Aoi
by GloomyBumblebee
Summary: AU. Dai and Satoshi are about to start upper highschool. Krad, Satoshi's cousin and roomate, changes to their school and a new student appears in the classroom... DaixDark
1. Chapter 1: Dangerous Kids

****

Title: Aoi**  
Author:** Gloomy Bumblebee**  
Genre:** Shounen-ai**  
Subgenre:** AU/angst**  
Rating:** PG-13**  
Pairing:** DaixDark (mainly)**  
Summary:** It's the first year of upper high school for Daisuke and Satoshi. The boys have a new classmate who calls himself Dark and Satoshi's cousin, Krad, changed to their school. Trouble, confusion, angst, denial and cheesy romance ensues, enjoy! By the way, Aoi, as far as I know, is a colour. It's a sort of blueish green or greenish blue... I though it represented well the idea for this story... aaaaaaaanyway...**  
A/N:** What can I say...? I just HAD to do this... Couldn't resist the idea of having Daisuke, Satoshi, Dark and Krad all together in the same school... not to mention the crazy stuff that will happen in the future... Oh, and Krad doesn't want to kill Daisuke here; in fact, they're kinda... friends. He, I hope he won't seem to OOC. I also hope you like this and if you do, please, review!!  
**A/N2:** in Japan the educational system is organised into 6 years of primary-school, 3 years of low high-school and yet another 3 more years of -dun-dun-dun- upper high-school. Just wanted to let you know that bit... I took this information from the Slam Dunk mangas I'm reading (those aren't mine, my best friend lent them to me). Hai, hai... he lends me Slam Dunk and Rurouni Kenshin and I lend him DNAngel and .hackUdeDen... we are such hopeless nerds... sorry, got off track, as usual...**  
Disclaimer:** Heh, so funny... guess what: I'm NOT Yukiru Sugisaki, therefore, I don't own DNAngel!! Can you believe it...? No, seriously, I'm not, I swear.

-o-o-o-**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 1: Dangerous kids_  
  
Daisuke looked up at the clock on his bedside table. He was running late for his first day of school! He pulled out his uniform from his wardrobe and got dressed hastily, getting his shirt on backwards and non-matching socks. Backpack in hand, he dashed for the stairs to go to the kitchen; his mother was humming happily as she laid the table for the Niwas to eat their breakfast. Daisuke was in such a hurry that he just yelled his greetings to her as he left home, toast held between his teeth. It was a very important day to the boy, since he would be starting upper high-school. He couldn't forgive himself for being so late in such an important date... he was sure Satoshi was already there, waiting for him to enter their new classroom.  
  
And he had been right; Satoshi was, indeed, waiting for him in the corner of the street where Azumano College nº2 stood. "It was about time!" said the blue-haired boy with his usually expressionless features twisted into a smirk as his friend jogged in his direction, seemingly out of breath. "Did the sheets glued to your body as you slept?"  
  
"Funny... ha... ha..." Daisuke responded sarcastically between gulps of air.  
  
"Are you alright?" asked Satoshi as he laughed at his friend's flushed face. Daisuke nodded and they made their way to the institute for another year of schooling.  
  
The school's halls they were walking through were packed with students of all ages. The two friends headed for the playground, where all the different classes gathered to be directed to their respective classrooms. Daisuke was nearing hysterics; he hated overpopulated spaces. Satoshi was the same as usual; cool looking and apathetic, staring from afar at the chatting students and the giggling girls who squealed each time he looked past them. Daisuke chanted curses under his breath as a professor started calling their classes, one at a time, naming each student and taking notes on who was present and who was not. _This will take forever..._  
  
"Daisuke-kun! Long time, no see."  
  
Daisuke turned around to see who had called his name with such familiarity. Krad Hikari, Satoshi's cousin and roommate, smiled that smug smile of his as he hugged him. He was looking as impeccable as he last saw him with his light-coloured clothes and his long, blond hair that seemed to sparkle under the morning sun. Of course, Daisuke wasn't the only one to notice the boy's charms; a group of fangirls were waiting in line behind the boy's back to give him their perfumed pink envelopes with god-knows-what inside that would make anyone's neck hairs stand on end. Still, Krad seemed immune to the girls' harassment.  
  
"I know I'm terribly attractive, but... stop staring at me like that, you're making me feel uncomfortable." Those words brought the distracted boy back to Earth. His cheeks burned and his hands had clenched into fists. He hated when Krad made that kind of... insinuations.  
  
"I wasn't staring at you, baka!" Daisuke defended himself. "I was lost in thought." And it was true, he had been thinking... about Krad's attributes. "Say..." the boy started saying, looking pensive with his brow furrowed. "Didn't you attend Azumano High nº4? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, I think it's pretty obvious. I switched institutes."  
  
"Is this the let's-all-laugh-at-Daisuke holiday?"  
  
"Krad is here because his best friend left the country and he was bored all alone, so he changed to this school," Satoshi explained flatly. "And now he has me to spend lunch break. As if we didn't spend enough time together..."  
  
"Lucky you," Daisuke teased him. Meanwhile, Krad had left to his own class. The professor was now calling the students from the boys' year. All of his friends were there as they had been the previous years. Everything was the same; except for...  
  
"Mousy Dark"  
  
"Hai"  
  
The professor looked slightly displeased, though he was used to that kind of reaction. Daisuke turned to look at the source of the bored-sounding voice. A boy with dark purple hair and pale complexion, thin but well-built stood by the flagpole, chewing gum like a horse eating alfalfa. _How appealing of him,_ thought Daisuke as he watched the boy's jaws go up and down. Said boy just had to look in his direction then, making the boy nervous without apparent reason. Dark waved at him and smiled as if he had known him since childhood. Daisuke waved back, his eye twitching._ This guy is weird..._  
  
"What are you looking at?"  
  
Daisuke snapped out of his trance to the voice of Satoshi Hiwatari. "Nani...?" Satoshi shook his head and pushed Daisuke to the direction of their new classroom. Throughout the entire trip, Daisuke kept looking back at the strange boy who each time returned the stares, always smiling and waving. _This boy is freaking me out! He looks dangerous, maybe he's a psycho or something. I wonder how he managed to enter the institute..._  
  
A wall he hadn't seen was what forcefully took him back to the real world. Or rather Daisuke's face smashing against it. Satoshi was nowhere to be seen amongst the horde of fangirls that had dragged him inside the classroom and he seemed to be the only one left in the hall... the only one except for a certain creepy guy. "Are you alright?" Dark asked concerned as he approached the boy with the bruised nose.  
  
"I- I'm fine..." Daisuke stuttered unconvincingly, all the while thinking the worst things about his classmate. He was just too weird...  
  
"Are you sure? Your nose is swollen and red and it looks like it's about to bleed..."  
  
"I'm fine, I'm telling you..." Daisuke's nose chose that exact moment to start bleeding, as it had been predicted. Dark shook his head and dragged the struggling Daisuke down two flights of stairs into the infirmary, where the nurse stopped the bleeding and then applied a band-aid on his nose. Then the boys headed back to their classroom. On the way there, Dark introduced himself politely, something Daisuke wasn't expecting, and chatted happily about nothing and everything. Inside the classroom, Daisuke sat next to Satoshi who had saved a seat for him. Dark flopped down in the seat behind them, making Daisuke think his weird thoughts again. _Is he a stalker or something?_  
  
"What happened?" asked him Satoshi and Daisuke explained to him about the wall and the bloody nose and Dark dragging him to the infirmary. Satoshi shook his head in amusement, trying to hide his snickering from his short-tempered friend. The professor said nothing, having noticed the band-aid on the boy's nose and the class started.  
  
Just a regular day of school...  
  
-o-  
  
When the bell rang and lunch break begun, Daisuke and Satoshi went outside to the school's gardens to have a quiet meal under the shade of a tree. Krad joined them minutes later after they had arrived, carrying a neatly prepared bento. "Hello," he greeted the boys as he sat down cross-legged on the floor. Turning to the redhead, he feigned concern, making Daisuke squirm in anticipation. "Dai-kun, I heard about the... incident."  
  
Daisuke had expected him to burst out laughing but, surprisingly, he didn't. Instead, he asked Daisuke what had he been thinking about to miss the wall he'd walked into. It was the redhead who started to snicker then. He told his friends about Dark and how he thought he looked dangerous and weird and that he'd been so lost inside his thoughts to notice anything else. Krad, once he'd recovered from his sudden and unexpected fit of laughter, dismissed Daisuke's suspicions.  
  
"Nah, he might seem a bit odd, but he's a nice guy. He wouldn't hurt a fly, he's like a wounded puppy..." Both Satoshi and Daisuke stared at him. How could he be so sure, it's not like he knew him or anything... But Krad stood up and started walking in the building's direction. "Don't touch my bento!" He warned menacingly as he disappeared from view. Only minutes later, he returned to his spot, dragging someone else with him.  
  
"I asked Dark to come and join us, I hope you don't mind..."  
  
"Konnichiwa!" the boy smiled.  
  
"Hi..." the two boys answered in unison. Satoshi was the same as usual, expressionless, and Daisuke was nervous, again, for no apparent reason. Dark looked at him and smiled at Krad, as he pointed in their direction. Before he could say anything, Krad, who wasn't exactly known for his social skills, shut him up with a wave of his hand and nodded. The other spoke no further, he just sat down on the grass and took out his lunchbox.  
  
As they ate in silence, Daisuke kept staring at Dark. Krad told him the boy was far from dangerous and he believed him, so that fact was out of the question. However, there were still a few other things that intrigued him about Dark. For example, what was he doing in the first year of upper high-school? He looked as old as Krad and the latter was already in third year. "Excuse me..." Dark looked up to the boy in front of him. "How old are you?"  
  
"Eighteen," Dark told him. For an instant, Daisuke could swear he saw a flicker of insecurity in his eyes. Maybe he didn't like talking about certain things... the boy couldn't understand why, since the only thing he'd asked him was his age, but who was he to judge?  
  
Lunch break ended as silently as it had begun. The four boys made their way into the building, Krad parting ways when he reached the third year corridor. Dark and the two friends returned to their classroom, talking about Krad. Or rather, Satoshi asked him how did he know his cousin.  
  
"We used to go to the same school," he simply said. That seemed to be enough for Daisuke, but Satoshi was a different matter. He wanted to know more, for instance, he wanted to know why Dark was two years late in his education. He shrugged it off anyway, as soon as he entered the classroom. He'd have enough time to find things out.  
  
"Hiwatari Satoshi"  
  
...or maybe not.  
  
-o-o-o-__

Well, the first chapter's done. I know it's a bit short and I know it's messy, but it was the best I could do for an introduction. This story will take shape later on, don't worry. There's a warning, though: this explores the cheesiest side of Dark Mousy and Daisuke Niwa, all action be gone. Also, I intend this to have lots of angst, so beware. Oh, by the way, each chapter will be named after a J-Rock song. This time, it was an old Buck-Tick track. Just wanted to let you know... Ja ne!  
  
Oh, yes... please, leave a review!!!


	2. Chapter 2: Garden

A/N: _Italics_ represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 2: Garden _  
  
Satoshi walked up to where the professor was waiting for him, as Daisuke and Dark made their way to their respective seats. The man told the class to remain quiet as he led the boy to an office nearby. Krad was already there as was his adoptive father, wearing that cynically fake smile of his. "Satoshi-kun," he greeted; the professor took that as his cue to leave them three alone.  
  
"Father," Satoshi greeted him back as he took a seat in front of his father. Krad was trying hard not to snicker at the coldness he felt emanating from his cousin, who seemed really upset at having the older man back in the country. He didn't know why he disliked him that much; he might be an inattentive father, but he didn't look that bad either. Not to him, at least.  
  
"I have a favour to ask from you," the older man started saying. "I have a very important business meeting in Hong Kong and I want to take you both with me." The boys went speechless, each of them staring back in silence at the man before them. Satoshi, Krad understood why his father wanted him with him, but himself... what was the point in taking him with them as well?  
  
As if reading his mind, Satoshi asked his father, "you're taking us there so you can brag about on how great a parent you are and how kind and caring you were to take two poor, orphan boys with you?"  
  
Satoshi's father laughed as if he believed the boy was only joking, which he wasn't. When he looked up, smile still plastered on his lips, he shook his head and assured both Satoshi and Krad, his intentions were completely innocent. "Really, I just want you to know other people..."  
  
Still, though neither of them were entirely convinced, Satoshi and Krad agreed to go to Hong Kong. The man, content with their answer, wished the boys a good day and left the office, not before reminding them to pack their luggage, since their flight was due tomorrow's night.  
  
"Great," Satoshi muttered as Krad and himself went back to their respective classrooms. "Just great. It's the first week of school and I'm already going away, for a trip I don't want to make, no less. Great, just... dandy..."  
  
Krad, who didn't seem all that upset at having to go, frowned in his cousin's direction, as he asked him, for reassurance, if what he'd said before was true. Satoshi already knew what he was referring to and nodded. "Of course, the man is a terrible parent and an uncaring idiot; the only reason he wants us there is to put up his most successful facade in order to look more appealing to his dear business affiliates."  
  
"I see... still, it's always a good thing to be travelling to other places..." Krad, judging for his facial expression, didn't seem all too convinced about going along with Hiwatari's show, but it wasn't like he had a choice, either. Waving at his cousin, he turned around the corner to go to his classroom while Satoshi kept walking to the end of the hallway into the first year corridor. When he got there and sat at his usual spot, Daisuke started asking questions. He knew he was going to do it, so it didn't really bother him; he told him everything his father had said back there in the office's solitude. How tomorrow he would be going away for a week or so and how he knew what his father's intentions were, even if the man himself tried to denied them. Daisuke already knew how Satoshi's father was; he suspected that much from what his friend always told him. He thought that, to begin with, a man who left his child to live alone by his own devices, couldn't be called attentive, caring, or even kind. Therefore, he understood perfectly well Satoshi's resentment towards him.  
  
Dark overhead the entire conversation. He didn't intend to do it, but he didn't try to distract himself either. Somehow he could understand this Satoshi guy, but still... having an uncaring father is better than having nothing at all.  
  
-o-  
  
Tuesday morning shone down onto the Azumano district, the very few clouds in the sky veiling the sun's light. Daisuke paced down the streets with ease, taking in the warmth of this holy weather as he made his way to school. Though he loved the peace surrounding him, he missed Satoshi's company. It was the first time in a really long while since he'd last walked alone to school. And speaking of Satoshi's absence... how was he going to get through the entire day? Sure, Satoshi wasn't exactly a party animal, but his intelligent chat and the way in which he expressed his ideas always amused Daisuke. He had the power to turn a regular schooling day into a roller-coaster ride... no, not really, but still, Daisuke was definitely going to miss him for the rest of the week.  
  
As he reached the entrance to the institute, he sighted a dark-haired boy getting lost amongst the crowd; Dark Mousy. Daisuke ran to catch up with the boy's pace, while thinking that he should at least try to get to know him better. Sure, he might look weird, but he was an interesting guy. He thought back to the previous day, when he spent lunch break with him and his friends. He was so cheerful, greeting them with a chirping tune, he seemed too happy to be convincing, actually. In fact, if he compared yesterday's Dark with today's he'd think they were complete opposites. That struck Daisuke as mysterious; he promised to dwell on it further as he finally caught up to the boy.  
  
"Ohayou, Dark-san," he greeted him. The boy jumped in surprise; apparently, he hadn't seen him as he followed him. Having the boy so close to him, Daisuke could tell of the flickering emotions running wildly behind the boy's eyes. He could also witness his expressions changing, which only helped to increase his earlier suspicions; Dark had turned from a shy boy to a static ball of energy in only a fraction of second. Enough time for Daisuke to get a little worried about him.  
  
"Ohayou, Niwa-san, you scared me a bit, but that's alright...!" he still didn't sound convincing to Daisuke, but the boy let it pass, nonetheless. He just walked next to him to their classroom, talking about last night's TV shows.  
  
As they entered the room and walked to their respective seats, Dark suddenly got a little nervous. Daisuke would laugh at his reasons later. The boy had taken Satoshi's seat beside Daisuke and he was afraid the boy would take it badly. "Are you kidding? Why would I mind?" Daisuke smiled, dismissing the subject. The room filled quickly, even though the two boys had arrived early, and the professor walked to the front wall where the blackboard was. Silence engulfed the space within the four concrete walls as today's lesson started.  
  
-o-  
  
The day went by as any other would. Dark and Daisuke had been fooling around the entire day, during class, breaks and club sessions. Any time seemed fine for them to digress on the most unimportant matters. Truth is, Daisuke enjoyed every bit of the boy's company and the feeling seemed to be mutual; so much that he even invited Dark to have dinner at his home the next day. And as Wednesday's evening came, Daisuke walked Dark to his home, where his mother was waiting for them with the table laid and dinner served.  
  
They had ramen and okonomiyaki for dinner and rice cake with sweet-bean sauce for dessert. The Niwas and their guest ate until their stomachs hurt and talked about many things afterwards, as they waited for the pain to subside. When they regained control of their limbs, Daisuke showed Dark to his room, where they played Warhammer and watched anime. Daisuke was glad to find out the boy shared most of his interests and their likes were quite similar and that, added to the wonderful time they were having, helped to push his suspicions about the boy away for a while.  
  
When it was nearing midnight, Dark stood to leave. "Wait," Daisuke stopped him, almost unconsciously. "Wouldn't you like to sleep over? I mean, it's already got so dark outside..." The boy seemed to ponder on the option for a while and it seemed, in the end, he wasn't entirely convinced, but he agreed anyway. And so, Daisuke told his mother about the new arrangement and they prepared a futon for him to lie on while Dark took his host's bed. Sleeping over would be, as they'd soon find out, a very bad idea. The two boys spent half of the night talking and getting to know the other and, when they finally closed their eyes, it was already seven o-clock in the early morning. Emiko Niwa tried to wake them to go to school, but seeing as she wasn't going to succeed in her task, left the boys to sleep quietly.  
  
Dark woke up six hours later. He watched as his new friend slept, while he relived everything they'd done last night in his mind. He couldn't believe that he'd had so much fun with a boy he barely knew. In fact, it seemed he'd never had that much fun before. This boy had a certain something... Dark wasn't sure of what he was thinking about anymore, but one thing was sure: he already liked Daisuke a lot; he felt he could be himself in his presence, he didn't need to pretend. But still, he needed time to let the mask fall off; he wanted to know more about him before telling him everything, before revealing his true self.  
  
Daisuke chose that opportunity to wake up. He opened his eyes lazily, purring like a cat as he stretched his limbs; he wasn't accustomed to sleeping in a futon. He met his friend's gaze as he greeted him with a hoarse voice and his foot playfully hitting the boy in his head. Dark hit him back with a pillow and war ensued. Emiko, hearing the noises and the giggles coming from her son's room, went upstairs to tell the kids lunch was served. "So, Dark-kun, did you sleep well?" she asked to the boy before her. Said boy smiled brightly and answered that he hadn't slept that good in ages. Emiko seemed pleased with the response and walked out of the room. As soon as she closed the door behind her, another pillow fight started.  
  
When the boys became too exhausted to fight, they headed downstairs into the kitchen for their much-needed lunch. As they ate, they talked about many things, most specially about school. But there was one thing that intrigued Dark and he asked Daisuke about it. "Niwa-kun, I was wondering, do you know what is the relationship between Krad and Satoshi?"  
  
"Didn't you go to school with him? I thought you knew him better..."  
  
"Yes," the boy acknowledged him, "I did, but we weren't really close and since I heard they were living together... I don't know, it just intrigued me. Are they lovers?"  
  
Daisuke choked on his drink and his cheeks tinted red. He coughed a few times, making Dark worry; the older boy walked to where his friend was and patted him on the back a couple of times. The coughing subsided, but Daisuke's cheeks were still on fire. "WHAT??" he spat disbelieving at Dark.  
  
"Well, they seem to be so close to the other... and since they ARE living together..." he pondered on the clues for a while, before turning to Daisuke once again. "So, they're not lovers?"  
  
"Stop saying that!" the redhead exclaimed embarrassed as he tried to regain his composure. He took a few calming breaths and proceeded to explain things to Dark. "Krad and Satoshi are cousins, both of them belonging to the Hikari bloodline. Satoshi's parents died when he was seven and was soon adopted by mr. Hiwatari, who knew the Hikaris quite well. He took Satoshi with him, made him change his surname, educated him in his own fashion and tried to turn him into a clone of himself. He failed, needless to say. Six years after adopting Satoshi, Krad's parents died. He was 13 then and though it proved to be a tough challenge, Hiwatari thought to give him a chance and took him in, though there weren't any legal bonds between them.  
  
"He tried to manipulate Krad the way he couldn't manipulate Satoshi, but failed again; Krad never caused him any trouble though, and usually did what he was told without complaining, so Hiwatari always liked him better. Satoshi grew up to be a bit resentful for his father's inattention, but Krad was always there to comfort him, earning the boy's trust and affection. Mr. Hiwatari grew more distant every day. His job didn't leave him much time to spend with his children and he was constantly travelling around the world, paying for the most expensive nannies to take care of the boys. Two years ago, when Krad was sixteen and started upper high-school, he bought a huge apartment for them to move into. Krad was supposed to take care of Satoshi, but the boy, given past experiences, could perfectly take care of himself, which he was sure to make clear to his father. They had a big fight because of that, but everything went back to normal after a while. The point is, Krad and Satoshi are cousins that were taken in by mr. Hiwatari."  
  
"How queer..." Dark thought as he rubbed his chin pensively. "Why would someone like mr. Hiwatari, so young and successful, want to take care of two children?"  
  
"Well," Daisuke said, looking sad as he smirked. "It's pretty obvious..." Dark looked at him puzzled; he couldn't see the obviousness in the predicament. His friend, watching his features contort in confusion, raised an eyebrow. "Don't you know anything about the Hikari family, Dark?" he asked as if he couldn't believe the boy was oblivious to it all. But indeed, he was; the dark-haired teen shook his head and Daisuke sighed. "The Hikari family is the most important family of the Azumano district. They are -how should I put this?- filthy rich. Krad and Satoshi are the very last descendants of the family and are bound to inherit every penny of the Hikaris as soon as they turn eighteen."  
  
"Then, that means... Krad is already rich and powerful?" Dark's eyes had widened into saucers as he asked for reassurance. But Daisuke shook his head.  
  
"Krad isn't eighteen yet, his birthday is in two months. But, yes, he will be rich and powerful, as you kindly put it. He'll only have a right over half of the Hikaris' wealth, though. Once Satoshi turns eighteen, he'll have the other half for himself. Still, the both of them will be filthy rich, as I told you before. With that said, I think it's pretty obvious why mr. Hiwatari took the boys with him, don't you think?"  
  
Dark nodded. It was sad, if he were to be honest with himself. The man didn't love his children, he was just using them. Still, he trusted both Krad and Satoshi to know what to do and knew that neither was going to fall for the trick. In fact, he was sure that just as Krad turned eighteen, he would take Satoshi with him and they'd both forget about the man. But all of the money and power they'd have would never make up for the lack of affection. He stood pensive for a while, he wasn't sure for how long, until Daisuke waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, Dark, do you want to go to the park?" The boy nodded and soon they left the house.  
  
They walked down the two blocks separating the Niwa home from the park in utter silence. Neither said or did anything that would betray what they were thinking. Somehow, having that conversation had made the both of them nervous, specially Daisuke. The boy, after telling Dark about his friend's story, regretted having done so. It seemed the story had made Dark feel a little sad and he didn't know why; it had also awaken some questions in his head about this new friend he had. He wanted to ask him about them, but after seeing the look on his face after finding out the truth about Krad and Satoshi, Daisuke wasn't sure he'd answer. Still, he thought it would be worth to try.  
  
"Dark?" the older boy turned to look at him. "I was wondering..." Daisuke started fidgeting with a lose thread from his shirt as he led them both to a bench by the park's playground. "Earlier, when I told you about Krad and Satoshi..."  
  
"Yes?" Dark didn't know where their conversation was going, but he was starting to feel a little too nervous for his own good.  
  
Daisuke carried on, drawling each word, unsure of what to say or how to say it. "You didn't know about the Hikari family, even though it's the most important one of Azumano and everyone knows about it. And you... you live here and even went to school with Krad! I was wondering, exactly how could you remain oblivious to the whole story?"  
  
Dark stared at the ground as he sat. Daisuke awaited for his explanation eagerly, but at the same time, he felt bad for asking him. It hadn't been his intention to put Dark in an awkward position and if he could erase his own words, he would have done it. Or that's what he wanted to believe, since, in all honesty, he was rather intrigued about that fact. The dark-haired boy finally looked up. His usual happy expression was gone, letting Daisuke see once again those feelings he'd tried to hide the other day. That sadness, the desolation he disguised as shyness, everything was there in his eyes; he could finally see it. This was the real Dark Mousy.  
  
"It's true, I live here and I was born here and I went to school with Krad. I haven't lied to you," Dark said. Then, he brought up his gaze to meet Daisuke's as he told him, with all of his sincerity, "not yet, at least."  
  
Daisuke reddened from the closeness between them. He turned his face away, trying to hide his blush, a reaction he didn't understand, and stuttered. "W- Why would you lie to me?" Dark laughed bitterly; his deep voice vibrated in his throat as he did so, making Daisuke get even redder. _What is wrong with me?_  
  
"Don't misunderstand me," he clarified, "I wouldn't lie to you. I honestly don't know why, but I wouldn't." _Why did he have to say that?_ Daisuke thought as his cheeks burned. "I'm actually glad you ask," the boy admitted to his friend, "no one ever did before, they just set me up so I'd slip and tell them. They didn't care, they just wanted to bother me..." Daisuke had absolutely no idea of what this boy was talking about, but he was sure what he was about to tell him wasn't good.  
  
"I was born eighteen years ago," Dark started telling as he lost his gaze in the horizon. Without even realising, he had decided to let the mask fall sooner than he'd intended. "The same day I was born, my mother died." Daisuke winced; this story had started off the wrong way and he already regretted having asked. "My father took care of me. I don't know how good a parent he was, though; I don't even remember his face, since the last time I saw him was when I was three.  
  
"I've been told, that one hot day of summer I was playing in the street with my father. He had entered the house to fetch a glass of juice for me, when someone appeared out of the blue, grabbed me and ran away to a car that was parked down the street. When my father came out again, there was nothing there but a note. I could never find out what the note said, though.  
  
"I grew up here in Azumano, in a warm, healthy environment. My parents were very caring and attentive and they would do anything for me; I loved them. I have nothing but good memories of my past with them. Everything was fine until this one day, when it all went straight down to hell. My parents had received a letter and an unexpected visit, my birth father. I always knew I'd been adopted, they never lied to me, but they've been lied to. When they adopted me, they were told I was found abandoned in a dump. Of course, that was a lie, I'd been stolen, but they didn't know that and disbelieved my father's words. They kicked him out of the house, of course, and denied my being there. That happened when I was six.  
  
"Well, it turns out that, a year later, when my parents could finally contact the people that gave me to them, they heard the truth from that people's mouths. The pain and the embarrassment they felt were so great that, later that year, they killed themselves. They were in the Hokkaido area at the time. I had been left here to start my studies at a small but really nice primary school a few blocks from our institute; that's where I met Krad. I had been living with my uncle by then, and I stayed with him after finding out they'd died, since he was my godfather...  
  
"He was an incredible man, he cared for me as if I were his own son. I always loved him dearly. He taught me many things and tried to find out as much information he could gather from my past, just because he wanted me to be happy. He helped me a lot in many aspects of my life and I'll always be grateful for that. I lived with him up until last month, when I turned eighteen and he gave me, as my birthday gift, my own apartment. It's small but cosy and it's only two blocks from his house, so I see him everyday after work."  
  
Daisuke interrupted the boy's story. "You work?"  
  
Dark nodded. "I work at a grocery store near this park."  
  
"But, yesterday, you spent the entire day at home..."  
  
"Yes, but I asked for permission from my boss and he said it was alright. He's a fine old man," Dark said fondly. "And I only work four hours everyday, so he can easily replace me... or he can close the store earlier, but he's an ambitious little one..." he snickered happily, the memories from the story he'd been telling were still fresh in his mind. It ached, but when he thought of all the wonderful people he'd met during his life that had been supportive to him and had helped him so many times, the pain eased and allowed him to feel a little happiness.  
  
Daisuke was rooted to the spot. Everything he'd found out, only three days after meeting this boy, was too much to bear. He couldn't believe he'd asked him such things. And to crown it all, he had no idea of what to do now. Should he comfort him? Should he tell him everything would be alright? Should he just stay quiet? _What on earth am I supposed to do??!_  
  
"Don't get all nervous on me, Daisuke," Dark told him. "I don't regret telling you about my past. It might seem stupid, but I kinda trust you, even though we've only met a few days ago. You're the kind of person that would help others and be supportive instead of making fun of their problems. I've met a good deal of that people..."  
  
Daisuke smiled. Dark trusted him and he trusted Dark, for whatever odd reasons, and that was enough. He had a few more questions to ask, but he'd find the time to ask them eventually. Meanwhile, the boys thought it was perfectly fine to simply enjoy each other's presence in that beautiful, peaceful park as they watched the toddlers play happily around them.  
  
-o-o-o- __

This chapter was named after a Dir En Grey song (I love Diru, it's one of my favourite bands). Oh, yeah, in this story, Satoshi's father hasn't got a single thing to do with the police; he's a quite successful business man. Since it's an AU, I can do whatever changes I want, isn't that sweet? For one, I made Daisuke a total geek, like me! Though I don't play Warhammer... Aaaaaaaaaanyway... please, review!!  
  
And speaking about that, for this story, I'll actually take the time to answer reviews. I didn't do that for SMOT, because I couldn't see the reviews page and I was too lazy to copy each review from my mailbox into a clean .txt file. But all problems have now been fixed, on to the reviews then:  
  
**Inferno 13:** I couldn't update any earlier than this. I hope the length of this chapter will make up for it. **  
  
darksaphire:** ditz? Sorry, English is not my mother language, so I have no idea of what you meant. Though, I'm guessing, you meant he's rather naive, maybe a little stupid. Glad you think this is cool, and there will be funny moments, but i plan to keep it angsty.**  
  
yamiinuyusuke: **yes! I have a fan, yay! I'm glad you're liking this so far!**  
  
baka-chibi-puffs:** kyaaaa! You're my stalker, aren't you??? Gah! I have fans AND stalkers, what has the world come to???!!! Just kidding, you know I love you .**  
  
whiteangelguardian:** Ah, but you were right to feel like that... the Dark you saw in the first chapter was not the real one!! Now you know the truth... mwahahaa cough sorry cough choke b-bye...**  
  
angel-of-shadows123:** right you are, there aren't. Speaking about that, would someone, ANYONE, please tell me of some other archive, site, or whatever where I can find more Dark/Dai fics? I NEED MORE OF THOSE!!  
  
**Vespalady: **don't be sad! Here's the update, a little late, but it's here at last!  
  
_Anyway, I'm really thankful for your reviews, though I hope I'll get a few more for this chapter... hint pleeeeeeeeeeeeease? Oh, well, I have to go now, ja ne!_


	3. Chapter 3: Rain

****

A/N: _Italics_ represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 3: Rain_  
  
Daisuke was lying on his bed with his back against the mattress; he had closed his eyes and was happily letting himself be bathed in the sunlight coming from his bedroom window. Today was Tuesday, the day Satoshi and Krad would be coming back to Japan. The redhead was glad that his best friend would be back, since he needed to tell him everything that had happened while he was away. Everything related to Dark, that is. Daisuke was a little surprised, if he were to be honest, that the relationship between him and his new friend was evolving so fast. It just seemed like they were destined to meet, so good they got along. Conversation between them flowed naturally and they could discuss anything; there were no limits to their communication skills. It truly amazed Daisuke that someone as shy as himself could trust and be trusted so quickly and all of a sudden by someone he met only a week ago.  
  
Slowly, the boy pulled himself out of bed. He had already got dressed, so he just grabbed his backpack and walked downstairs into the kitchen, where his mother was waiting for him. The curious thing was, Emiko Niwa wasn't alone that morning nor was she accompanied by her husband or her father. Indeed, his companion was someone much, much younger.  
  
"Hello, mum, Dark..." Daisuke froze momentarily. "...Dark???"  
  
"Um, hi, Daisuke..." the dark-haired boy smiled a bit nervously. He had woken up early and thought of picking up Daisuke to go to school. That's what he told the teen, who instantly turned to his mother, "why didn't you tell me he was here?"  
  
Emiko just giggled and told him that she didn't want to upset him; she thought he'd been sleeping, since he never wakes up early. Daisuke stuck out his tongue at her playfully and then sat at the table to eat. When they were done, the redhead and his friend left the house to go to school, immersed in a debate about the new anime show about an innocent teenager that shared a body with a legendary kaitou.  
  
The kids entered their classroom when it was still empty. They sat at their usual spots and waited for the rest of the students to arrive, while they carried yet another of their pointless conversations, this time about old toys. "I tell you," Dark said seriously, "Thundercats were way better than those stupid Silverhawks."  
  
"Hey," Daisuke complained, "I used to love Silverhawks..."  
  
"And I used to love He-man, but that's not something I'm particularly proud of." Daisuke turned to the source of the voice he knew so well. Satoshi was standing right in front of him, looking as cold and calculating as ever. That is, until his friend jumped off his seat and caught him in a bone-crushing hug. "Was that really necessary?" he asked as they pulled back. Satoshi sat on the seat behind Daisuke, since Dark had taken his spot. "So this is how it works..." he mocked the boys in his cool tone of voice, making every joke sound serious. "I leave for a week and you get yourself a new desk-mate? I'm hurt, really..." he said as he raised one hand to his chest.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Daisuke told him. The boy was pensive for a while, before he asked him "did you really like He-man?" Satoshi blushed and looked away, Dark and the redhead bursting out laughing as the professor arrived. _Go figure..._ Daisuke thought,_ the classroom filled and I didn't even notice..._  
  
"So, how did it go?" Dark asked the blue-haired boy, trying to make conversation. Satoshi raised an eyebrow at him, before answering nonchalantly.  
  
"It was fine, I guess. I could've done without any of the experience, but... couldn't help it either." He admitted to the boys, "it could have been worse, though. At least Krad was there, this time."  
  
"How is he?" asked Daisuke, as he started to copy down onto his notebook what the professor was writing on the blackboard.  
  
"Krad? I haven't seen him that happy in years, actually. He likes to travel, you see, and he has a thing for Chinese people."  
  
"A... thing?" it was Daisuke who spoke. He didn't understand what his friend meant.  
  
"Yeah, it's like... I don't know how to explain it."  
  
"Like: 'I think Chinese people are hot?'" Dark suggested mockingly. Surprisingly, Satoshi pointed his finger at him and exclaimed 'exactly!' making everyone start laughing.  
  
"What are you laughing at?"  
  
The three boys turned in the professor's direction, each murmuring apologies. Luckily, before any of them could be given a detention for disrupting class, a certain blond boy entered the classroom. Senpai Krad greeted the professor politely and asked for a minute of the class' attention. He was holding a sheet of paper that looked suspiciously like a list of names.  
  
"Good morning," he greeted; his tone never changing from the bored-sounding drawl that was his trademark. "I have news for you," everyone's ears pricked up at that statement and soon the class went deadly silent.  
  
"A camping weekend has been arranged for all students of upper high-school from first to third year. It is necessary that you form groups of four; you can pair up with your own classmates or with students from a different class, it's all up to you. Remember: no group, no trip and that's it. Now, I'm going to pass this list to each of you; those who are interested, sign up with your name and come to see me tomorrow after classes." Krad passed the paper to the first student of the left-front row and walked past him to meet his friends.  
  
"Hi!" Daisuke greeted him.  
  
Krad nodded in his direction and took a seat next to Satoshi. "So... are you in?" At Daisuke's confused expression, the blond rolled his eyes and explained to him, "the camping thing!"  
  
"Oh," the redhead laughed. "Sure, I mean, if I find a group to go with..." he looked at Satoshi and the boy raised his hands in defeat. He didn't need any words to express what he felt: Daisuke always got what he wanted in the end... Happy with the unspoken response, the redhead turned to Dark. The teen smiled and said 'sure!' and Daisuke turned to the only one left to become a part of the improvised group.  
  
"Oh, no..." Krad warned him. "No, no, no..." Three pairs of pleading eyes turned in his direction, burning down his resolve. "No; travelling is one thing," he clarified, knowing what his friends were thinking, "camping is another. I'm NOT going to the woods and that's final."  
  
"Hontoni?" Satoshi raised his eyebrow at him; he was sure his cousin would lose the battle.  
  
"Hontoni."  
  
"Hontoni, hontoni?" it was Dark who now asked.  
  
"Hontoni..."  
  
"Hontoni, hontoni... hontoni?"  
  
There it was for Krad to see, Daisuke's trademark puppy-eyed stared, the same stare that had doomed his weekends for several years. The blond could feel his resolve weakening, but he shook his head and took a few breaths to regain his composure; he wasn't going to lose. Krad glared at his red-haired friend once before answering, between clenched teeth, "H-O-N-T-O-N-I."  
  
-o-  
  
At 5 pm the next Friday, Krad was helping his friends set up the tent, as he cursed and cursed and cursed once again his weak resolve. Fortunately, not many people were interested in having a camping trip, so there was plenty space to set the different groups' tents and still have an ample area where the recreational activities would be held.  
  
"I tell you, you're getting it wrong!" Dark shouted as he tried to keep the tent's roof from collapsing. "Krad, let go of that rope!" Too late, the tent in its whole had fallen limply to the cold earth. Daisuke laughed while Hiwatari remained distant, keeping a list of all the things they've brought. Krad had stomped off after the incident, leaving Dark alone to set up the tent by himself. Seeing that the dark-haired boy wouldn't get far on his task, Daisuke tried to help him.  
  
"So... how are we supposed to do this?"  
  
Dark sighed, another futile attempt at building up a tent. He was slowly growing resigned to their fate of sleeping on the grass under the stars. _Well,_ he thought,_ at least he's not as grumpy as Krad..._ And so, Dark taught his redheaded friend how to set up the tent and surprisingly, and much to Krad's annoyance, they completed the task successfully in less than half an hour.  
  
But eventually, Krad's temper had cooled down a bit by dinner and the four boys could enjoy their meals in peace. They didn't do much after that; since the next day they'd have to wake up early, they all went to sleep as soon as they were done eating. Well, not really... actually, they stayed up until midnight, talking amongst themselves about many embarrassing things. But they were lying on their sleeping bags and inside the tent, so no one really noticed they were all but sleeping.  
  
Naturally, when morning came, the four boys were in quite a poor state. The bags under their eyes were grey and heavy and neither, except Krad who always looked impeccable, were any better than a walking corpse, so tired they were. Of course they were the ones to blame for their current state of nearing-catatonia, though due credit goes to their camping co-ordinators as well, who insisted that they should all wake up at six. Too bad they hadn't listened to them at dinner, when they announced their plans...  
  
And speaking about plans, the four boys were now participating in an improvised soccer match between first and second years. Dark and Daisuke were playing with their classmates while Hiwatari and his cousin went for a walk with the third year students. The dark-haired teen had become the star of the team, scoring three points. Daisuke was stunned, he had no idea Dark was such a good soccer player. Obviously, the first years won the match; after that and having a quick lunch, everyone went different ways.  
  
Dark and Daisuke, seeing that they were filthy and sweaty, went to the lake to clean themselves off. A few other students followed, like Saehara and Sekimoto, but most of them went back to the improvised soccer pitch for another game. Half-naked and splashing about the lake was how Satoshi and Krad found the boys an hour later. Krad was in quite a bad mood, mostly because of the many bug-bites he claimed to have all over his so-called perfect body, but seeing the boys play so innocently in the water made him forget about the mosquitoes for a while. He stripped off and dived into the blue depths. Satoshi sighed and shook his head at him, making his cousin take his hand and drag him involuntarily into the water. Satoshi lost his composure (and his unneeded glasses, too) and started to chase his cousin half-swimming, half-walking since the lake wasn't deep. Daisuke and Dark laughed at the scene taking place before them, as they themselves had a wrestling match in the water. Tired and wet, they went to bed early that day.  
  
It was Sunday now, their last day of camping. It had been arranged with the professors that they would be returning to the Azumano district by Monday's afternoon and starting classes again on Tuesday, so everyone woke up early to make the most of the current day. And so, they did everything that came to mind to pass the time, from climbing mountain ranges to improvising more soccer matches and some other games that the girls could share with them. All in all, everyone at the camping field had greatly enjoyed their weekend, even Krad couldn't complain. But all good things come to an end and this camping trip wasn't the exception.  
  
At midnight, when everyone was too tired and sleepy to move, a bonfire was lit in the centre of the field. All the campers sat around the sparkling fire to tell horror stories or sing a song while another played the guitar. Needless to say, they improvised a karaoke competition that, surprisingly, Satoshi won with his acoustic version of Kinya Kotani's Smashing Blue. He dedicated that song to Daisuke whom, blushing profusely, admitted to liking Gravitation. Before the snickers, though, every male stare had turned in the redhead's direction.  
  
"So..." Dark said in a conversational way, "you like... shounen-ai?"  
  
Daisuke didn't dare to answer, he just looked away and kept blushing. The strange thing was that Dark wasn't going to tease him, he just... couldn't believe it.  
  
-o-  
  
Later that night, after the fire had been put out and every story had been told, the campers went to sleep. Well, almost. Daisuke twisted and turned in his sleeping bag, fighting the current insomnia. Seeing that all of his efforts were futile, he grabbed a sweater from his bag and went out for a walk. He had tried with all his might to sleep, but somehow his eyes refused to remain closed, leading him out of the tent and into the open to end up sitting under a tree as he stared at the moon. That is exactly what Dark was doing when he found him half an hour later.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked the purple-haired boy, startling him.  
  
After recovering from his near heart-attack, Dark spoke in a deep, hoarse voice. "I think that's already pretty obvious." The boy was holding a cigarette in his right hand, something that Daisuke found extremely odd.  
  
"You never told me you smoke."  
  
"You never asked."  
  
Daisuke was a little taken-aback by Dark's sudden coldness, but he let it pass. He thought the boy was probably remembering things that made him sad and depressed and he wasn't in the mood for friendly speech. Sighing inwardly, Daisuke simply sat beside him and remained silent. He could hear the sound of Dark's breath as he exhaled smoke, a sound that somehow made his heart pick up speed and start pounding wildly in his chest. He was wondering about the reason for that feeling, when Dark threw away the butt of his cigarette and turned to look at him. He didn't speak, he just studied Daisuke's features until said boy met his gaze and forced him to look away.  
  
"I'm sorry for treating you so coldly," he said, "it's just that I've been thinking and... well, you know, there are things from my past that keep coming back to me in the least opportune moments."  
  
Daisuke shrugged, he was smiling relieved. "I figured that much, you don't usually act like this." Dark snickered bitterly and kept his gaze in the moon. After a while, Daisuke, bored of staring at things, took Dark's hand and pulled him out of his sitting spot.  
  
"What the hell...?"  
  
"I'm kidnapping you," was all the explanation he gave. Dark let himself be led through the forest and into a small-looking cave made or rock at the bottom of a mountain range. Once there, a thunder echoed in the sky and rain started to fall heavily, punishing the ground with every drop of water.  
  
"How did you know it was going to rain?" asked Dark, perplexed.  
  
"I like to call it 'sixth sense,'" he smiled, "really, you spent half an hour staring at the sky and you didn't notice the black clouds?" Staring out into the soaking distance, he confessed. "I thought of running us back to the tent, but we are way too far from it to make it there dry and clean."  
  
Dark nodded, agreeing, and took out another cigarette. The look of disappointment in his friend's face made him put it back into the pack, though. "I don't know when you started smoking," Daisuke told him, "but you should quit it."  
  
"I've already quit doing a lot of things, might as well help myself ease the pain..." Daisuke gaped at the words that had come out of his friend's mouth. The funny way in which he'd pronounced each word and the irony in the message, it all served only to hide his real feelings. He was dying inside and not because he wanted to, but because he had no other choice. Daisuke, maybe for the first time, could really believe he understood what Dark felt. And it hurt.  
  
"What is it that hurts you so much, Dark?" he risked asking, "what happened to make you so sad? What is that something you didn't tell me?"  
  
After a short but insufferable silence, the boy snickered. "You're very perceptive, you know, Dai-chan?" Daisuke blushed at the use of that suffix. "There is, actually, one thing I didn't tell you." Dark sighed and walked in circles as he thought of the words; he didn't know how to say what he had in mind, because he couldn't understand the message. He didn't want to understand the message, never mind how much time he'd had to get used to the truth.  
  
"The reason for my skipping two years of school, is that..." he paused; each word made his throat ache as he spoke. Tears were threatening to fall, but he blinked them all back. "Remember I told you my uncle helped me a lot? Well, the best thing he ever did for me was, precisely, to help me look for my birth father. He's a great man," he said, as the tears started to fall and he sat in the cave's ground. "He took me all around Japan to find him and we... did. We found him, though not in a way we would have expected." Daisuke sat beside him and lent him his shoulder to cry on. Dark was looking worse than ever, his eyes puffy and red and his cheeks wet and sticky from the tears. "This day, last year, we found out my dad had been dead for seven years."  
  
He broke down again then, with Daisuke by his side as he cried. "There," the boy tried to sound soothing, "I know this won't be much help, but... you can count on me whenever you need me. Even though we've just met, I want you to know that I'll always be there for you."  
  
Dark's sobbing decreased until he had completely stopped crying. All the while, inside his mind, Dark thought about his friend and smiled. The wind howled madly as the rain danced outside the cave; Dark and Daisuke kept each other company, save from harm and far from the curious stares they would get from their classmates if they saw them. The freezing cold forced them to stay close for warmth and the sound of the water droplets crashing in the ground lulled them to sleep. Dark said nothing, he just buried his face in Daisuke's chest and slept while the boy watched him, trying to relax and stop his rapidly pounding heart. The last thing Daisuke thought before falling asleep as well, was a simple question, something that he'd seen happen before but couldn't understand it now; it was the feeling he got each time he looked at Dark, the fluttering butterflies in his stomach that confused him.  
  
"What is this feeling?"  
  
-o-o-o-__

Nyah, that's it. I'm sorry for the delay (I have little time now since... I GOT A JOB!! (yay!)), but this was the best I could do. It was really difficult for me to write this chapter; even though I have everything plotted and a guide for each chapter, I couldn't find the words to draft it. Talk about Writer's BlockÔ !! Ah, well, at least it's done... Oh, yes, this chapter's title is a wonderful song by Japan's god, Gackt. And don't forget: support this story!!! It HAS a plot, therefore it has an end. Please, don't give up on me! Um, about the 80's cartoon references... I used to LOVE Thundercats and He-man... and I always despised Silverhawks. I know this is irrelevant... Oh, yeah, also... could you PLEASE leave a review for me?????? ...Please?  
  
Now, onto last chapter's reviews (they were only four... come on, be a little supportive here!):  
  
**KageKitsune16:** here it is, a little later than expected, but it has arrived. I hope you enjoyed it and if you did... you know what to do, hint**  
  
baka-chibi-puffs:** I do love you and you're the sweet one. AND you're not half as weird as I am, that much I guarantee... Nope, English is not my first language, Spanish is. I'm from Argentina, for those who don't know.  
**  
yamiinuyusuke:** I'm glad you like it!! I'm also glad I have a #1 fan because that means there's more than one... hehe, I'm such an idiot... neh, keep reviewing and maybe I'll shut up and stop babbling "**  
  
sen:** another reviewer, yay! I'm really glad that you think that about my fic, I'll let you know I do put a lot of effort in it, even though it doesn't show. It's just that words play tricks on me...


	4. Chapter 4: Overdose

A/N: _Italics_ represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 4: Overdose _  
  
Daisuke sighed as he contemplated Dark's sleeping form. He'd waken up all of a sudden, feeling uncomfortable only to find himself trapped in an awkward embrace by the purple-haired teen. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous about such discovery, since, after thinking and dreaming and waking up to ponder on his situation, he'd come to the conclusion that he was starting to develop romantic feelings for the boy. To someone like himself, so open-minded and free of spirit, it shouldn't be much of a problem nor a surprise, but still... knowing he might be falling in love with a boy somehow upset him. He cursed then the influence of Gravitation in his life as he tried to forget the images that suggested embarrassing situations between Dark and himself.  
  
And speaking about Dark, the boy was now stirring to wake up, nuzzling his nose unintentionally in Daisuke's neck as he took in his scent. Daisuke smiled unconsciously as he heard the weird, humming noises coming from the boy's throat. Then came a yawn and a purring sound and Dark was awake. "Ohayou... Dai-chan."  
  
Daisuke blushed as he stuttered his reply, "O- ohayou... Dark-k-kun..."  
  
Probably because of the deep red tint on his friend's cheeks, Dark finally realised what his strange behaviour was all about. He had his arms wrapped around the boy's body, his face almost completely buried in the crook of his neck... they looked like a couple! "Go-gomen ne, Dai-chan..." Dark said in a very low tone of voice as he slowly pulled himself away from the boy. "I had been sleeping, so I didn't notice..." he couldn't say anything else. He suddenly felt as if he had an army of drunken, hyperactive butterflies fluttering about in his stomach. Luckily for him, Daisuke interrupted him, telling him that it didn't matter and that it wasn't all that terrible. Of course, after those words, the boys looked at each other and then tore their gazes away, trying to find something in their minds that would distract them from their weird feelings and the images of lovey-dovey birds chirping as they danced. Yes, they were hopelessly (falling) in love with each other.  
  
Daisuke looked outside the cave and took in a few gulps of fresh air. It had stopped raining, so they could return to their tent. And they should do it soon, since everyone had probably packed their things to leave and they were the only ones missing. He winced; that could only mean trouble. Saehara would have a field-day with the innuendo and Krad... he didn't even want to start thinking about Krad. He just hoped Satoshi wouldn't want to tease him as well... that could be disastrous.  
  
"I think we should get going..." Dark said as if reading the boy's mind. He smiled a bit nervously and, remembering last night events, he held out his hand for Daisuke to take. The redhead squeaked, making Dark blush crimson and put the offered hand in his pocket as he snickered, wishing for the earth to open and swallow him whole.  
  
They walked together in utter silence to their tent. As they had both imagined, everyone had already packed and were now having lunch. They had slept for more than eight hours, it seemed, considering the scene before them and the late hours of night in which they'd finally fallen asleep. Krad was the first to talk, as usual. He smirked and told them, "is it just me or spring has already started wreaking havoc?" Both boys blushed and avoided looking at the other since then, what Satoshi found most suspicious. He shrugged after pondering on the possibilities for a while; it wasn't that he cared, after all...  
  
-o-  
  
The ride back to the Azumano district was long and tedious. Dark and Daisuke had tried in several occasions to speak to the other, but all of their attempts had been futile; each time they opened their mouths to say something, they would end up sighing and looking away or saying some stupid line to either Krad or Satoshi. It was rather pathetic, actually, and Krad couldn't agree more. In fact, the blond teen was starting to get a little bored of teasing them.  
  
Two hours before the end of trip, Krad had started thinking about the unusual behaviour of both his friends. The whole thing seemed too weird to lack a logical explanation and so, he was resolute to find it. And as he considered the time and space of the situation, the situation itself and the many mood swings of the boys, he came to a conclusion. _Of course, how could I have been so blind?_ Smirking, satisfied with himself, Krad went back to his conversation with Dark. Though it wasn't really a conversation, but something more like Dark speaking and Krad pretending to listen while he dwelled on his friend's situation in his mind.  
  
Satoshi was playing cards with Daisuke in the seat behind Krad and Dark's. The redhead had told him pretty much everything that had happened, which wasn't much, really, carefully avoiding any mention of his feelings and/or ideas on the happenings. Not that Satoshi needed them, anyway. Just like Krad, Satoshi knew -or thought he knew- exactly what his friend was going through and what he felt towards Dark. He didn't dare asking, however, because he didn't want to pressure Daisuke into confessing. He trusted the boy and he knew he was trusted as well, so he thought better to wait. And besides, it'd be better for him to have some time to think about this whole problem. _  
  
He may refer to himself as an open-minded, carefree person, but that's just a facade,_ Satoshi thought to himself as he played his cards. _Daisuke knows very little, if anything at all, about this matters and I'm sure he's scared as hell. He's avoiding him, after all, that has to mean something, right? Yeah... I think he's finally realising how hard these things can be. Yet, no one ever said love would be easy..._  
  
The bus came to a halt in front of the school building. It was five in the afternoon and the institute was mostly empty, except for the parents that had been waiting for their sons and daughters to arrive. Among the multitude, Emiko Niwa stood waving next to an uncomfortable-looking Kosuke. Daisuke waved back at his mother and made a sign for her to wait; he wanted to say goodbye to his friends before he went home.  
  
He walked next to Satoshi to where Dark and Krad were. With each step he took, he felt his throat drying up and his hands start sweating. _What is this thing I'm feeling? Why the sudden change? This never happened to me before!_ He was thinking desperately to himself, searching for answers he knew he wasn't going to get as he approached his friends. The blond boy gave him a quick, rough hug -a manly hug, he liked to call it- and pushed him, rather inappropriately, in his companion's direction. Daisuke crashed face-first into Dark, his cheek smashing into the boy's chest as he held onto his hips to avoid falling. By this point, Dark was nearing hysteria and his cheeks had tinted red; Krad had left with Satoshi, leaving the two boys relatively alone. Daisuke pulled himself away from Dark and looked away, swallowing saliva as he looked for the right words to say. He thought he should just act normally, as he did when Dark went to his home or when they walked together to school, but even though that had only happened a weekend ago, he couldn't remember how he'd done it.  
  
Dark was having a hard time as well, trying not to run away in panic. He was confused and unsure of his feelings or what his feelings were, to begin with, and he was struggling to control himself. Krad had left him and Daisuke alone and he was cursing the name of his so-called friend as he thought about the possibilities... _No, bad thoughts!_ He shook his head violently, willing the uncalled images to vanish. Daisuke looked at him in a funny way, wondering what was wrong with him. Dark smiled and snickered and Daisuke giggled; they looked like two idiots... though they did make quite a lovely couple.  
  
Daisuke bowed to Dark politely and wished him a good day. Dark did the same and promised to meet him up the next day, something they were accustomed to and didn't seem too hard to do or speak about. They parted ways, walking with uncertain step and shaking like leaves. Kosuke frowned at his son as Emiko giggled and told him he looked rather dishevelled; Daisuke himself couldn't agree more.  
  
Classes the next day proved a hard task for both Daisuke and Dark to get through. Everyone in the classroom had commented or been told about the sudden and unexpected disappearance of the boys during the last night of the camping trip. Different ideas and opinions had been voiced aloud for the boys to hear, but mostly there were squeals and screams of 'kawaii' among the girls. The two boys wished themselves dead, then.  
  
Daisuke had been avoiding Dark the whole morning and said boy had been doing pretty much the same. Neither were happy about the situation, but they didn't complain either, since being together or relatively close to the other was proving to be difficult. Satoshi, back in his usual spot next to Daisuke, had been constantly trying to get them to speak to each other, at least to look themselves in the eyes, but nothing worked. It looked like they actually wanted to ignore the other. What for, he had no idea, but it was truly odd. There came a moment during the course of the school day when Satoshi threw his arms in the air, defeated, and decided to stop intervening. _If they want to ignore each other, fine by me, but they'll regret it. Soon._  
  
And it was true; they would, eventually.  
  
The third day after arriving home, the boys were starting to feel sad. Embarrassment didn't seem that much important now, which led them to mind about other things like anguish. Dark was, probably, the one that suffered the most. He had trusted Daisuke with everything he was, everything he had and now he couldn't stand being apart from him. But, judging by his feelings, being with him was just as painful, something he still couldn't fully understand. Daisuke wasn't doing any better, since he missed Dark too much. Satoshi was still his best friend, but Dark... he was different from anyone else he'd known. He had certain qualities that made him unique, from the way he walked to the way he talked; everything he did or said was different. Daisuke missed that exotic flavour the boy had added to his life.  
  
Still, knowing how much they missed each other's company, neither was ready to make the first move. Not yet, at least, though the possibilities were still there for them to take.  
  
-o-  
  
The next Saturday, Krad stood with his cousin, Satoshi, in front of the Niwa household. They were both dressed to kill; Krad clad in leather -something quite unusual for him-, while Satoshi had put on a pair of dress pants and a tight, short-sleeved shirt to match. Daisuke had frowned at their looks as he opened the door and, once they'd explain, he'd gone back inside to change himself. "I honestly have no idea of how you convinced me of doing this," Satoshi drawled boringly. Krad smirked and turned to him, looking almost evil. "Trust me, you'll enjoy this," he said and Satoshi feared the worst. Or he expected it, at least.  
  
Daisuke opened the door and went outside, wearing a tight pair of black jeans and a just-as-tight long-sleeved polo shirt. He looked stunning, Krad decided, and slapped himself for getting distracted over such little and unimportant matters. Satoshi shook his head, _they're all insane_, he thought. "So, let's go," Krad announced and everyone started walking. Step by step, little by little, all the while chatting and joking about anything that came to mind, the three boys reached their destination.  
  
"Krad?"  
  
"Yes, Daisuke-kun?"  
  
"This..." the redhead had started stuttering. "This is..." He could not believe it. Krad had taken him to a...  
  
"It's a bar, Daisuke-kun, a bar," he explained as if it were a five-year old he was talking to. Daisuke glared at him for being such a prat and he smiled. "Come on, I'm only joking... though not about the bar thing..."  
  
"Krad," Daisuke insisted. "We're all underage, we're not allowed to drink."  
  
"Oh, always the goodie-goodie one..." he shook his head, grimacing in a mocking way. Daisuke kept glaring at him as he tried to talk some sense into the older boy. "Daisuke, grow up, it's just a bar. We'll have some drinks and chat about things. It'll be a friendly, happy meeting and you won't regret it, trust me."  
  
Daisuke doubted for a while. Somehow, trusting Krad was not one of the things he would consider for his priorities list. Still, knowing Satoshi was there as well helped his resolve collapse. "You knew about this?" he asked his best friend. Satoshi nodded and shrugged, he wasn't too convinced about this thing either, but it wouldn't kill them to try it... Finally defeated, Daisuke shrugged his agreement. Krad squealed in delight -something most uncharacteristic for him to do- and pulled his two companions inside the dim-lit bar.  
  
The blond teen led them to the furthest end of the room, where they found a round table with three chairs. Each took a seat around the unstable-looking table as they looked around the place, studying its architecture... or lack thereof. "So, what are you having?" Krad asked to the boys as he looked through a list of beverages.  
  
"Whatever it is you're having," both boys answered in unison. Krad raised his eyebrows in surprise and then smirked; this would be much easier than he'd thought. Holding up his hand, he called for the waitress. The young-looking woman walked to them and flashed a wide grin at them. "May I help you?" she asked and Krad nodded.  
  
"We'll all have sake," he declared. Both Satoshi and Daisuke's eyes widened as the waitress left to get their order.  
  
"Are you insane?" Satoshi snapped.  
  
"Do you want to kill us?" Daisuke asked, alarmed, already wanting to get out and far away from Krad. The blond just laughed and told them to calm down.  
  
The bottle of sake arrived only minutes later. The waitress set out three glasses and poured a generous amount of the alcoholic liquid into them. Bowing politely, she left them to enjoy their drinks. Krad raised his glass, proposing a toast. "Come on, don't be shy..." he teased. Satoshi and Daisuke looked at each other before reluctantly picking up their glasses as well. All three glasses raised, Krad chanted "to love!" and gulped down the contents of his own. Satoshi and Daisuke followed, imitating the boy's actions. They knew they would regret having done so, and too right they had been.  
  
Three hours and five bottles of sake later, Daisuke couldn't lift his head and Satoshi was more than a little dizzy. Krad, given his experience in pubs and bars, didn't look like he'd been drinking. In fact, he was perfectly normal and could move and talk without any kind of difficulty. _Lucky me_, he thought. "Hey, Daisuke-kun?"  
  
"...huh...?"  
  
_Bright answer, little one..._ "Say, what is the whole thing with Dark? I mean, it's like you're trying to avoid him; it seems odd..." He hoped Daisuke understood what he'd ask.  
  
"m'notta voiding -nyone..." the redhead spoke unintelligently. Krad cursed himself for letting him drink so much.  
  
"Yeaah, you're..." Satoshi couldn't finish his sentence. He just started giggling maniacally and for no apparent reason. Krad was getting more and more irritated with each passing second. _If only I could get drunk that easily..._ "Tha thin'is..." Satoshi carried on, half-slurring the words. "You looooooove Dakkun..." Krad's ears pricked up at that. Finally, the moment he'd been waiting for had arrived. He wanted to know, he wanted to find out...  
  
"Is it true, Daisuke-kun?"  
  
But Daisuke didn't answer, he just broke into a fit of giggles, followed by Satoshi who kept repeating 'you loooove Dakkun...' Krad sighed, this night had gone too far. Calling up the waitress once more, he paid for their drinks and stood up. He walked to where his cousin was and shook his shoulder. The blue-haired boy smiled up at him and stood up; Daisuke did the same, still under giggle-shock. He led the two staggering teens home, all the while thinking it had been almost pointless to bring them to the bar. He thought it'd been _almost_ pointless because, at least, he'd managed to get some pictures of the drunken boys. Yeap, that was what he liked to call blackmail material.  
  
Daisuke fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. "...akkun... daski..." he whispered as he fell asleep. Krad stopped dead in his tracks. With a bright, wide grin he congratulated himself. It seemed... the best was yet to come.  
  
-o-o-o- __

Well, this is it, chapter four's done. It's a little bit shorter than the last two, but... it's hard to write something decent when you have such a strong Writer's Block like mine... Ah well... Oh, yeah, this chapter's title is a song by Pierrot, one band I truly like. And I'm in love with Kirito, too. Just a quickie note: the 'daski' thing is the drunk version of the word 'daisuki' which means 'I love you'. I think. I'm pretty sure, at least... Well, I hope you liked this and if you did, I expect your reviews . Until the next chapter, ja ne!!  
  
Hang on... I almost forgot: I'm going to build a DNAngel shounen-ai fic archive. If any you would like to contribute and/or suggest fic titles to include, please tell me in your reviews or via mail at killerlullabyculthero.de. Rules: to suggest fics of your own, send me your alias, the title of those fics and the address where I can find them. If they're not uploaded anywhere, send them to me. To suggest a fic, tell me the title of it, the writer's alias and the address where it's hosted AND, if possible, the writer's e-mail address. Please, help me here!!!  
  
Now, it's review-response time:

**darksaphire:** here it is!!! I really hope you like it... I wasn't sure about this one, but... ah,well, less is nothing, ne?  
  
**Luine: **here is the fourth chapter, I'm not doing that bad with the updates, ne?  
  
**baka-chibi-puffs: **I AM updating now, why won't anyone have a little faith in me????  
  
**Inferno13: **I'm glad it did, hope you'll continue liking this!!!  
  
**KageKitsune16: **I did get over it, see? Chapter FOUR... why didn't anyone but darksaphire reviewed when I posted last chapter?? I'm sad... I'm going to cry... no, not really, but please do review this chapter, kay? Ja ne!!


	5. Chapter 5: A Drop of Colour

A/N: _Italics_ represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 5: A Drop of Colour _  
  
The morning sun shone through the window, bathing Daisuke with its revitalising heat. The boy still had his eyes closed and was afraid of opening them. He remembered very little of the night before, though he could recall having staggered back home with a just as drunk Satoshi by his side and an upset-looking Krad catching them both to prevent them from falling. His head ached too much for his liking and his body felt sore for no apparent reason. He turned to face the light that had brought him back to consciousness when he felt something underneath him. Something soft yet with sharp, irregular edges that felt nothing like his mattress. Suddenly worried, he willed his eyes open... and regretted having done so as he gasped.  
  
-o-  
  
Dark sat worried at the back of the classroom, barely paying attention to the lesson. His thoughts kept coming back to Daisuke and the possible reasons for his unexpected absence. _He seemed perfectly fine, yesterday_, he thought, _why couldn't he come?_ He sighed as he realised that Satoshi wasn't there either._ Funny, I hadn't noticed..._ The teacher kept drawling the lesson, stretching the hours until they seemed eternal. Dark couldn't take it anymore; he was bored and worried and had no intentions of listening to this man.  
  
"May I go to the bathroom, sir?" Dark asked as he stood up.  
  
The teacher halted on his speech, looking at Dark with a puzzled gaze. "Yes, Mousy..." he said rather stupidly, having forgotten what he had been talking about, thanks to the inappropriate interruption.  
  
"Thank you, sir," Dark said as he rushed to get out of the classroom, into the hallway straight to freedom... and into Krad.  
  
"Krad? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask the same thing to you, don't you think?" The blond boy answered, his brow raised as he watched his friend pick up his things that had fallen to the floor. "Where are you going?"  
  
"Out. I'm sick of today's lesson, I can't take it anymore..." he admitted.  
  
Krad looked at him in a funny way, but said nothing. Instead, he simply sighed and led Dark to the main gates, where he was headed. "Are you going out, too?" Dark asked. Krad shook his head, explaining to him that he needed to fetch the janitor, since one of the light bulbs had exploded. Dark laughed at him, thinking he was joking, but he wasn't. "Why would a light bulb explode?"  
  
"D'you think I know?" was all the response he got from Krad. The blond kept walking, looking a bit tired which explained why he wasn't talking much. Dark then realised that, since Satoshi and Krad were living together, he probably knew why the boy was absent. And both being such close friends to Daisuke, might know the redhead's reasons for skipping classes. A sparkle of hope glittered in Dark's chest, but it died just as soon as he turned around to face Krad. The blond was nowhere to be seen and he was way past the main gates and out of the school. _Damn it..._  
  
-o-  
  
Daisuke looked into the glassy mess of blue that were Satoshi's eyes. He tried to process the overload of information, but his brain seemed to stop working. _I... am lying... over... Satoshi?_ He was so surprised, nervous and embarrassed that he couldn't move, which made things even more complicated for him. But Satoshi wasn't doing any better... The blue-haired teen had his eyes the size of saucers and could barely understand what was going on. There was, in fact, only one thing he could think about and he was sure that voicing it out loud wouldn't help solving the situation at hand. Still, he was so desperate that he couldn't stop himself.  
  
"Daisuke... what are you doing in my bed?"  
  
The redhead looked like he'd been slapped in the face. Though he didn't know why. "What are you talking about, this isn't your...!!" But as he bawled like a little girl, he took in the surroundings, effectively realising that... "This isn't my room."  
  
"I already know, baka. This is my room and you're lying on my bed... on top of me, no less." Satoshi had trouble finishing the sentence and by the last syllable he was so red in the cheeks that he had to look away. Daisuke still hadn't recovered from the initial shock, which meant that he couldn't move, yet. "Daisuke," Satoshi addressed the boy with as much dignity as he could find inside himself, "would you, please, get off me?"  
  
"I'd love to," Daisuke admitted, "but I can't move."  
  
-o-  
  
Dark was now sitting on his living room's sofa as he zapped through the channels, trying to distract himself. Needless to say, so far he had only failed. He still couldn't get Daisuke out of his mind, something that kept unnerving him and making him feel uncomfortable. Why did he care so much about someone he barely knew?  
  
Why was suddenly so, so very worried?  
  
-o-  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Satoshi, losing the little patience he had left.  
  
"I can't move. I don't even feel my limbs, anymore," Daisuke said on the verge of tears as he tried to avoid looking at his friend... or whatever he was now. "Wait!" The sudden thought struck him. "We're dressed, so that must mean..." But Satoshi shook his head frantically, ignoring the look of incredulity on his friend's face. Looking up and down the length of their bodies, he wished the bed would split in two and let him sink into the blackest pit of hell. _Damn... we're in our underwear..._ he paused to consider the situation.  
  
_We're in our underwear!!!_ He screamed mentally as he felt his limbs reattaching to his body and move, taking his weight off Satoshi. "I see you can move, now..." Satoshi tried to snicker as he got up from the bed. He had to think of this as some kind of bad joke, he could not believe the situation, it was impossible. Daisuke was his best friend, how could he do something so... indecent to someone like him? He was so innocent, so shy and easily ashamed and always so close to a nervous breakdown... it was simply impossible, they couldn't have... could they?  
  
"Daisuke," he asked, risking the last bit of sanity he had left. "Do you, by any chance, remember what we did last night?"  
  
Daisuke's mind was screaming, pleading for Lucifer to come and take him. He shook his head and admitted that he could not remember a single thing. "I don't even know how I got here," he said, feeling even more embarrassed than he already was, which was saying quite a lot.  
  
-o-  
  
Dark had given up on hope that afternoon. He had tried everything to distract himself from the worries clouding his thoughts, but everything had been futile. He was even considering going to sleep early -it wasn't even four!-. Luckily for him, the telephone rang.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Dark-kun!"  
  
Dark knew that voice, so shrill and full of life, so confident and determining, so... "Keiji Saga?"  
  
"Well, yes!" the blond at the other side of the telephone answered happily. Dark smiled widely as it finally dawned on him; he was talking to Keiji, his childhood friend, Keiji! He couldn't even remember when was the last time he'd spoken to him. Maybe... a month ago?  
  
"Keiji-kun, how are you?" he asked to his friend. "I've been phoning you for ages but no-one would pick up and you never called, so I was really worried!"  
  
"I've been on vacation..." Keiji laughed on the phone, suddenly feeling guilty for having abandoned his friend for so long. "I'm sorry, but it had been so unexpected... the trip and all, I mean. But, anyway, I didn't phone you to argue, but to give you good news!"  
  
"What is it, Keiji-kun?"  
  
"I'm moving back to Azumano! AND, I'll be attending your school, isn't that amazing?"  
  
"Really? That's so cool, Keiji-kun! When are you starting classes?"  
  
"Tomorrow morning, I think Krad Hikari is one of my classmates. Oh, I can't wait to get my hands on him!!"  
  
"Keiji-kun!" Dark exclaimed, feeling hot in the cheeks. Some things would never change, would they?  
  
"Neh, always such a prudie, Dark-kun... anyway, I was wondering, are you free today?"  
  
"Yeah," Dark answered reluctantly. If this was just one of Keiji's jokes he would get really mad...  
  
"Great, because we need to catch up and I need someone to come with me to my acting classes."  
  
Silence. "You, Keiji Saga, are studying acting?" He could feel the enthusiastic nod from the other side of the line. "Is this a joke?"  
  
"No, Dark-kun, it isn't. I have finally found my career."  
  
"Well, then... when does this class start?"  
  
"At eight, are you coming?"  
  
"Sure, why not?"  
  
"Great, do you want to meet up at six in the old museum?"  
  
"Yeah, see you there."  
  
"Bye, Dark-kun!"  
  
"Ja ne!"  
  
-o-  
  
The next day, the four friends met outside the institute fifteen minutes before classes started. Krad was wearing his smug smirk, though no-one knew what he was so smug about, and the rest were feeling uncomfortable. Dark and Daisuke still had trouble when speaking to the other and Satoshi and Daisuke could not even look at the other in the eyes. Dark thought it was really odd for them to do that, a thought that increased his suspicions of the day before a fifty percent.  
  
_Well, at least Daisuke is here_, he thought.  
  
Everything was going relatively fine, when someone 'kyaa-ed' and jumped behind Dark, catching him in a deathly grip. "Keiji-kun, you're choking me," said Dark as he tried to get the blond, hyperactive boy off his back.  
  
"Ohayou, Dark-kun," Keiji greeted before spotting a certain someone. "Ooooh... Krad-kun, I haven't seen you for such a long time," he purred as he walked to where Krad was standing.  
  
"Who are you?" Krad asked rather rudely, making Keiji flinch.  
  
"What do you mean 'who are you'?!! I'm Keiji Saga, I used to go to primary school with you, you baka!!" Keiji was red in the face and looking murderous. _No one forgets about Keiji Saga!!_ He thought to himself, before finally crumbling inside. _Why did he forget...?_  
  
"Oh, yeah, I remember you..." _Yay! _Keiji came to life again with those words. "You were the tiny guy with the annoying voice who kept jumping and singing and behaving like a complete idiot most of the time, aren't you? The class' clown!"  
  
_I want to kill myself..._  
  
Dark snickered to himself, careful of no letting anyone hear him as he turned to look at Daisuke, who was looking puzzled and a little... upset? "Keiji!" he called. The other boy looked at him, his eyes now opaque and betraying disappointment. "I'd like you to meet my friends."  
  
"Satoshi Hiwatari." The boy nodded shyly in Keiji's direction. "Satoshi is Krad's cousin, whom I think you already know." Keiji glared at his friend, before he was introduced to the last one of Dark's friends, a boy a red hair and stunning bright eyes. "This is D-Daisuke Niwa," Dark stuttered, trying to avoid meeting the boy's gaze. Keiji shook Daisuke's hand and turned to look at Dark, smirking. He already knew everything.  
  
When the bell rung, everyone went to their respective classrooms; Dark, Daisuke and Satoshi speaking little or nothing and Keiji chasing after Krad who kept ignoring him. But everything would be alright, they would all survive.  
  
And survive they did. By lunch-break, everyone was back into action, chatting amiably as they usually did, except for Daisuke and Satoshi. Dark, who was sitting next to Krad, took the opportunity to ask, "why aren't they on speaking terms?"  
  
Krad smiled widely then, snickering to himself as he answered. "The two idiots have been like that since they woke up in the same bed the other day, but--" Krad never finished his sentence. Keiji jumped from his spot to where the long-haired blond was, startling him and making him forget what he had been saying.  
  
But Dark had heard enough.  
  
Picking up his lunchbox he rushed down the stairs and into his classroom, picked up his backpack and ran out of school. He was suddenly very angry, jealous, hurt and he admitted all of those feelings and didn't care because the pain was bigger than anything else. Biting his lip, he tried to stop the tears from flowing as he stomped back to his house. Of all the things he expected to hear, what Krad had told him wasn't one of them.  
  
"Atchooo!" Krad sneezed as he thought of whom might be thinking of him. "What did you tell him?" Keiji asked perplexed at his friend's behaviour as Krad realised...  
  
_Oops..._  
  
-o-o-o-

_Well, another chapter done, I really hope you liked it. Sorry if there is too much dialogue and not enough narration, but it would have looked stupid if I tried to narrate, for example, Keiji and Dark's dialogue on the phone. Ah, well, I did my best. The thing is, my Writer's Block isn't completely cured. But it will be by the next chapter, even if it's the last thing I do!! By the way, the chapter's title is a song by Hyde. I love Hyde.  
Oh, another thing... I just HAD to include Saga in this story!! I think it will make this story a lot funnier... I hope, at least. And if not, at least he's there... trying to seduce Krad. No, seriously, I had to include him because there's a part of the next chapter that would have looked incoherent... I won't say another word, it'd spoil the surprise...  
  
Krad: cough I don't think there IS a surprise cough  
Bumblebee: shut up, Krad.  
Saga: I have the perfect idea!! Let's have the boys in a school play where Daisuke is a slutty princess and Satoshi is the sexy, legendary kaitô Dark!!  
silence  
Bumblebee: Yeah, well... cough ja ne!  
  
Oh! I lamost forgot: I just posted a little one-shot thingie with KradxSat, support it!! Or else..._

But before taking my leave... it's review time!! (yay)

**darksaphire:** I'll be waiting for that fic (please, make it DarkxDai, please????)  
**Sakura-Angel2:** he's funny, yeah... I loved writing the drunk scenes... and their dialogues in this chapter.  
**KageKitsune16:** you're forgiven. Here's the new chapter, review it!!! (neh, that sounded a bit too desperate, huh? ")  
**Yuki Haitani:** I'm glad you liked it!!  
**Pyro Demon:** new reviewer! Yay! I'm going pop-ularr... I can be sooo stupid, sometimes... ah, well, I'm really glad you like this!  
**baka-chibi-puffs:** yay, drunk is good! (except when it's me)


	6. Chapter 6: Fantasy

A/N: _Italics_ represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 6: Fantasy _  
  
Daisuke had been most surprised at Dark's reaction. Watching as the boy ran hurriedly away from the group had confused him; what could it be that had upset him so much that he had to leave? He had no answers to that question, but one thing was sure: he was going to pay a little visit to that old grocery store. Maybe he could find out what had troubled his friend so much. Meanwhile, he turned his gaze to where Krad was sitting. He imagined the blond boy had something to do with Dark's sudden departure, since he had been the last one to talk to him before he left. And that boy, Keiji Saga, he seemed to know Dark very well so Daisuke doubted he would have anything to do with what had happened. Still, it had all been so sudden and unexpected... what had happened? He needed to find out.  
  
Krad looked at his redheaded friend with narrowed eyes, studying the gestures he did while thinking and the worried look on his face. Yes, he had screwed everything up. Or at least he had slowed things down more than they already were going. He had started to plot a solution to the mess he'd caused without intending to, when a hand was placed on his left shoulder.  
  
"Ne, Krad-kun, don't you think it was odd for Dark to go away in such a rush?" the boy asked, making Krad forget -once again- what he had been thinking.  
  
"I have a vague idea..." Krad said, to what Keiji's ears pricked up. The latter swore to eternal silence and Krad nodded. The blond Hikari apologised to his cousin and friend and left to talk with Keiji, determined to explain the situation to the boy.  
  
Once Krad and Keiji were gone, Daisuke and Satoshi were left to themselves, stealing glances at the other as they tried to speak. Being best friends it was really hard for them to feel so awkward in each other's presence, but unfortunately there was nothing they could do to change the way things were. Feeling particularly hopeful, they both decided that they would get accustomed to what had happened with a little patience and time. Until then, they would wait; it was the least they could do...  
  
Later that day, once lunch was over, everyone returned to their respective classes. Daisuke and Satoshi walked together in utter silence to their first year classroom, arriving a little late for class and frowning at the commotion caused by their classmates. The situation got even worse once Daisuke stepped inside the room as the entirety of the student group erupted into applause and cheers. _This cannot be good_, Daisuke thought. _In fact, I bet it's even worse..._  
  
"Congratulations, Dai-chan!" An overly excited Takeshi Saehara said as he patted his friend on the back. "You've got the main role in this year's school play!"  
  
_I knew this had to be a nightmare..._ "And... what is this play you're talking about?" he asked Saehara. He hadn't heard anyone speaking about a play until then, something he considered to be quite weird if not even suspicious. In fact, considering all past experience, he thought it might have been a conspiracy.  
  
"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, mate! Guess what: you're Harry!" _Great, just great,_ Daisuke thought to himself. Not only he was worried about Dark and on non-speaking terms with his best friend, now he had to be part of the year's school play AND with the leading role, no less. It seemed fate was laughing at him, these days. _Well, at least it's a story I enjoy... it could have been worse; they could have chosen Cinderella or some other fairy tale of the like..._  
  
"Come on, Daisuke, cheer up! You should be happy about this, everyone voted for you! Well, everyone present at the time..." Saehara explained to him, not feeling the slightest bit guilty, even when he knew that everything had been his idea. "Don't you want to know about the rest of the cast?"  
  
Daisuke shook his head, feeling more annoyed than he had been in a long time. "No, thanks; I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later, anyway." And he had been right. As he took his seat behind Satoshi's, he shifted his gaze to the blackboard were the rest of the cast had been listed.  
  
HERMIONE GRANGER: HARADA RISA  
RON WEASLEY: SAEHARA TAKESHI  
DRACO MALFOY: HIWATARI SATOSHI  
SEVERUS SNAPE: MOUSY DARK  
  
Daisuke's brain stopped working at that exact moment. Dark? Playing the character of old, greasy bastard Snape? Dark... the Potions teacher? That surely was unexpected... and plain weird. He shook his head, his classmates were crazy. But then again, looking up at the list, he reread the choice for Draco's role and was suddenly on the verge of tears. Not only they were crazy, but also -maybe without meaning to- quite cruel. _Why did it have to be Satoshi of all people? Why? I just know this isn't going to be good... I know how fangirls feel about Harry and Draco, this is only going to lead us into trouble. Why me, kami-sama? Haven't I suffered enough?_  
  
As he saw Satoshi bury his head in his hands, he realised that he had been selfish. He had only thought about what he would feel, all the while ignoring his best friend. He knew him well and he knew that even when he was trying his best to deny it, he was probably suffering more than he was. He had always been quite shy and reserved, after all. Summing it all up, they were both in quite a mess.  
  
-o-  
  
That afternoon, Dark was sitting behind the counter of the grocery store. It was nearly time for him to go home and he was waiting for his boss to come back from the bank. He was twiddling his fingers in a bored way, watching as the clock ticked by and feeling quite nervous, actually. He was also so tired and the pain he still felt was so strong... he could barely believe he was feeling so bad, let alone understand it. He had a vague idea of what his problem could be, but just like it had happened before -back in the cave that other night, to be precise- he refused to accept it. He had almost fallen asleep, when he heard the bell that hung from the door's handle ring. Looking up, he expected to find a customer, but he was soon taken off guard by his unexpected visitor.  
  
"Daisuke?" he let the word slip through his slightly trembling lips. Suddenly, his throat had gone dry and his legs had started to shake. _This boy is making a complete idiot out of me!_ was the last coherent thought he had for a while. The redhead didn't look any better than he was. He was balancing his weight from side to side, pretending to take in the details around him when he was simply trying to gather the courage to say 'hello.' "W-What are you doing here?" Dark asked, trying not to sound rude.  
  
The redhead went, well, red as he looked away, searching for an answer. It was such a stupid question, yet it seemed to be the most difficult to answer. Sighing, he let the words flow, praying to whatever gods he had left that he wouldn't mess it up. "Well, I was worried about you. You know... earlier today you ran away from school for no apparent reason and it made me think weird things... you know, it... worried me."_ Great, Daisuke, great. Now that was reeeally bright of you._  
  
Dark was taken aback by Daisuke's confession. He was worried, something he would have never expected to hear from him, but still... even when looking at his face made him feel funny, it also hurt. It hurt because he knew what he and Satoshi had done and Daisuke had fooled him. He had made him believe something that wasn't possible and he should be angry about it. Only that he wasn't. He couldn't be angry, not with Daisuke.  
  
"Look," he said between sighs, "I'm busy right now, maybe... we'll talk tomorrow at school, okay?" Daisuke was a little shocked at the cold response from his friend, but shrugged it off, nonetheless. Smiling, he said goodbye to Dark and practically fled the store, nearly bumping into a chubby old man that was coming his way.  
  
"Gomen ne," he yelled as he ran past the startled old man. Said man, at the sight of bright, red hair and such a strong energy radiating off that boy, smirked knowingly to himself as he entered the store. "I believe I have just met your dear Daisuke..." he said and Dark smiled sadly.  
  
"Yeah," the boy said, "it might have been him..."  
  
-o-  
  
The next day at school, the rehearsals for the school play had begun. Krad and Saga had asked for a permission to skip classes that day so they were currently sitting at the back of the room, watching at two very-nervous Daisuke and Satoshi who were rehearsing -quite pathetically- the scene in which Harry and Draco meet at Madam Malkin's.  
  
_"Do you know what house you'll be in, yet?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been -- imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"  
  
"Mmm..."_  
  
The boys kept reading the script as Keiji, Krad and Dark, as well as the rest of the class either watched them or studied their own parts. "They're hopeless," Krad snorted, making Dark snicker bitterly. The blond looked at his friend, frowning. "And just what on Earth is wrong with you?" he asked the boy. "You've been acting all weird since yesterday..." Krad suddenly stopped talking, remembering what exactly had happened the previous day. _How could I've forgotten?_ He asked himself as he smirked. He was sure Dark was still jealous about the implications of what he'd heard him say and so he needed to make things right.  
  
"Hey, Dark, do you remember what I told you yesterday?" Dark turned to look at him, his eyes had gone opaque and sad, making Krad feel a little pity for him. The purple-haired boy nodded weakly, waiting for whatever Krad was going to tell him, even when he wasn't sure whether he wanted to know or not. "Well, the thing is that there's been a little misunderstanding..." Dark raised an eyebrow at him, unsure of what he was referring to but resolute to find out. Krad addressed him with a knowing smile, making clear that he knew everything. The poor purple-haired boy was at a loss for words; he couldn't believe Krad had discovered his little secret. "Remember I told you that these two idiots had woken up in the same bed?" Again, Dark nodded even though it hurt him to do so. "Well, judging by your reaction... I'd say you got the wrong idea..."  
  
"I don't think there are many ways of interpreting what you told me," Dark stated in a low, tiny voice that seemed about to crack. "They slept together, there's no big mystery about that..."  
  
Krad shook his head, still smirking to himself. Looking up, he met Dark's eyes as he spoke. "They did sleep together, Dark," he said, "just not in the way you think..." At Dark's puzzled face, he explained further into detail. "The other day I took the two idiots to a bar. Needless to say, they got drunk. Really drunk." Dark's eyes had now taken the shape of saucers. He couldn't believe this story; Daisuke wouldn't do something so silly as getting drunk, he was too innocent... "Yes, they got drunk and I had to drag them home. The thing is, Daisuke's home was too far from the bar for him to walk in such an awful state and so, I took him home with us. I stripped the two drunken idiots off their clothes and lay them on Satoshi's bed. Finito; end of story. They did nothing; even if they wanted to, they wouldn't have been able to do it."  
  
Dark breathed a sigh of relief; he could hear faraway bells ringing in his ears and his eyes now looked bright and full of life. Still, there was something that didn't make much sense. "Say, Krad-kun..." he said thoughtfully, "if they didn't do anything... how come they can't even talk between themselves? I mean, look at them," Dark said, pointing at his friends that even while rehearsing couldn't face each other. "They look guilty and embarrassed, if they hadn't done anything they wouldn't behave like that."  
  
"Ah, that..." Krad smiled shyly, as if feeling guilty himself. "They don't know exactly what happened, I didn't have the opportunity to tell them..." he excused himself. Dark was frozen for a moment, taking in the information. Finally, he sighed and happily exclaimed, "ah, you still have time..." Then, looking sternly to his blond friend, he said "but do it, or else..."  
  
"You know," Keiji cut into the conversation with a thoughtful statement; "you are actually good for Snape's role." Dark and Krad turned to look at him as if he'd lost an eye, making him shrug and dismiss the subject. The three boys were back to watching their friends rehearse. Dark was now relieved and calm and Krad felt as if he'd taken a massive weight off his back; he was resolute to tell the boys the truth, if only for Dark's sake... or maybe because of his threat.  
  
-o-  
  
When classes were dismissed that day, Daisuke, Satoshi, Dark, Krad and Keiji went to the park to have an amiable chat. Dark left with Keiji to get some drinks, leaving the other three boys alone, so that Krad would do what he had promised him. Meanwhile, Keiji was telling Dark about Daisuke's ability for acting.  
  
"I'm telling you, Dark-kun, despite what Krad said, I think that boy is really talented. He was just nervous back there and with good reason," he explained. Dark shook his head, he knew exactly where this was going. "We should talk him into joining our group..."  
  
"I knew you were going to say that!" Dark interrupted him, red in the face. "Forget about it, Keiji, we'll do fine without him!" Keiji shook his head, amazed at how stubborn his friend could be. Still, he knew he'd have the last say in the end and decided to stop pushing him for a while. Instead, they walked back to the playground in the centre of the park, where their friends were waiting for them. Dark smiled happily, as he looked at Daisuke who was talking fast to Satoshi with total ease, as if nothing had ever happened... which it didn't.  
  
"I see you're back on speaking terms," Dark laughed, to what Daisuke poked his tongue out. "Hey, no need to be rude..." he said as he poked Daisuke in the ribs. The redhead started giggling uncontrollably, Dark didn't remember him to be so ticklish. With a wicked grin on his face, he seized the opportunity to attack his friend. Soon, they were engaged in a battle of poking and tickling... something Krad and Satoshi found disturbing while Keiji thought to be quite cute.  
  
"Oh, please..." Krad sneered as he got up from the swing he was sitting on. "Get a room!" he said, making Satoshi and Keiji snicker. Dark and Daisuke stopped battling, both blushing and feeling embarrassed. They stood up as well and soon the five of them were back in the streets, walking to their respective houses as they sipped on their drinks. Krad and Satoshi said goodbye to the group and turned to the right, making their way to their apartment and soon Daisuke parted ways as well, leaving only Keiji and Dark. The two friends walked to the latter's apartment, where they would stop to eat before going to their acting class.  
  
"So..." Keiji started saying in his drawling, mocking voice, "what was that sickening display of affection, Dark-kun? Tickling? I didn't know you were that corny..." At least, Dark had the decency to blush.  
  
-o-  
  
Another crazy day of school after the other, rehearses were over and it was time to get on the stage. The play took place at a small theatre near the institute and all tickets had been sold. Daisuke didn't forget a single word of his script and Dark was given a standing ovation for his role as Snape, the Potions Master. Satoshi did well in his part, too and Saehara was also applauded for an excellent direction. All in all, things had gone pretty well and everyone was happy. In fact, there was someone who was a little too happy...  
  
Keiji Saga approached his friends backstage. "Dark-kun!" he yelled as he hugged his friend, "you were amazing, Dark-kun! These acting lessons are doing wonders for you!"  
  
"Acting lessons?" asked a rather surprised Daisuke Niwa as he took off the long, heavy robes he was wearing. Keiji eyed him from head to toe as he did so, earning himself an elbow from his dear friend, Dark. "Hey, don't get jealous," he whispered jokingly to him. Turning to Daisuke, he congratulated the boy, "you were really good, Daisuke-kun, you are very talented!"  
  
"Don't change the subject, Keiji-san, I heard you speaking about acting classes." He scolded the blond, mockingly, making funny faces as he did so. "Now, who is taking those lessons?"  
  
"Actually, both of us are," Keiji explained in a conversational way, making Dark get more and more nervous with each passing minute. He just knew he was going to do it. "The only difference," he kept saying, "is that they only seem to be beneficial for Dark-kun, while I'm left looking at him from the stalls."  
  
"Ne, are we jealous, Keiji-san?" Daisuke risked asking, seeing the gesture of mock-disappointment in the blond's face.  
  
"Nah, he's a fine piece of... scenery, anyway," Dark's ears had turned red at the innuendo and Daisuke wasn't doing any better; his face was red all of a sudden as he started thinking -and trying to dismiss at the same time- what Keiji had meant. "Hey, Dai-chan," Keiji started, all traces of mockery left behind; _this is it,_ thought Dark, _he's going to do it._ "You see, Dark and I are very much into acting and... well, our acting school is preparing a play about a boy..."  
  
"Keiji, I just remembered!" Dark interrupted them, looking almost violet now and ready to explode. "What?" asked Keiji innocently, "that you are a pathetic coward?" Dark finally reacted, losing the odd tint in his face and returning to a normal colour, though he was burning inside. "What did you say?" he asked. Keiji smirked and answered calmly; he knew just how to manipulate his friend. "I only stated a fact. If you think I'm wrong, then prove it to me."  
  
The unspoken (and reluctant) agreement was enough for Keiji. Dark stepped past him and faced Daisuke, sweating because of his rising discomfort. He was resolute to prove Keiji wrong; he wasn't a coward. "Daisuke-kun..." he started saying as he wiped the sweat off his forehead, "I was wondering..."  
  
"Just spit it out, man!" Keiji yelled, sounding annoyed. "Tell him to help you and it'll be it, there's no big deal...!"  
  
"What does he mean, Dark-kun?" Daisuke asked, suddenly intrigued.  
  
Dark sighed, it was now or never. "As Keiji already told you, our acting school is preparing a play. Well, the thing is... I have the leading role, but there's a problem." Dark waited for the interrogation 'what is it' but it never came. Instead, there was an awkward silence and Keiji's snickering in the background. "It's a shounen-ai play, Daisuke! And I'm really nervous, because I like acting and I want to be a professional, but I'm scared of having to kiss another boy and..." Dark tried to relax before spitting out the last bit of sentence in a single breath. "i-would-feel-a-lot-better-if-you-joined-this-play-to-be-my-boyfriend-in-the-play-because-i-want-to-have-someone-i-trust-to-be-my-boyfriend-in-the-play-because-i'm-scared-and-sorry-if-i-made-you-uncomfortable-i-am-too-so-i'm-sorry."  
  
Daisuke was stunned, to say the least. He wasn't sure he had understood everything Dark had told him -it had been quite confusing- but he was sure of one thing: opportunities were few and he'd already lost most of them.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Not it was Dark's turn to be stunned.  
  
-o-o-o-

_Ta-dann! Sixth chapter done, I hope you liked it. This chappie's title is a song by Atsushi Sakurai (Buck-Tick's singer) and I really like it.  
  
I think this chapter was waaaay better than the last one. For one, it was better written (or so I think) and it had more content. And be glad I didn't include the play. Oh, yeah... sorry about that, but I'm a Harry Potter geek and I rather liked the idea. Those of you who know about this story and are wondering what on earth was I thinking when I decided to have Dark as Snape... well, I think Snape is a rather sexy character (in its own, twisted way) and that Dark would perform the role well. Yes, I'm sick, I know. Oh, and the reference to Harry-Draco-fangirls is, well, just that. Fangirls are rather sick (I'm included) about having the two arch-nemesis as a couple... though they'd look rather cute, ne? Now, it's time for me to thank the reviewers:_

**Aroa Nehring: **Bueno, una niña que escribe en castellano (es un cambio agradable ). Mira, por ahora, lo estoy escribiendo en inglés, pero quizás en un futuru cercano, si tengo tiempo y me pongo vaga... no hay por qué descartar la posibilididad de traducirlo. Pero, si pudieras seguir leyendo este, me haría muy feliz! Gracias por la review, kisu-kisu! (Por cierto, de dónde sos? curiosidad, no más...)  
**Staryday: **This chappie was better, so I think you may like it. I mean, if you liked the last one...  
**KageKitsune16: **I'm glad you did, I just hope I won't disappoint you!  
**yamiinuyusuke: **Ah, but that's okay... he's got over it, I guess. Maybe too quickly, but I can't stand being too cruel to Dark-kun... at least not when he's the star...!  
**myinuyasha04: **Dai did went for Dark, but nothing happened there. I think we have to thank Krad here... he's good lad in the inside...  
**Pyro Demon: **here it is! You don't have to wait any longer!! Though I have to admit that I had to struggle violently to finish this... it was like an epic fight between my brain and the keyboard... scary, indeed...  
**ShadowCat Rika: **I will finish this even if it's the last thing I do, so don't worry. I'll change a dozen things while doing so, but the plot (IF you can call that a plot) is there and waiting to be put into a paper... or a Word doc...  
**baka-chibi-puffs: **It wa a mess, but everything went right in the end. As usual, we love happy endings, don't we?  
  
_By the way, peeps, thank to the three people that reviewed Rakuen. Just those three reviews were enough to make my day. I was rather insecure with that one, so thank you for cheering me up and being so supportive. You inspire me to keep writing, that's why I'm starting a new (long) fic with an experimental pairing... Krad... and Daisuke!! Mwahahaa, I love this crazy things... Ahhh... I'm a hopeless case..._


	7. Chapter 7: Coming Closer

A/N: _Italics_ represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 7: Coming closer _  
  
"Huh?"  
  
The intelligent question had been mouthed by both Dark and Keiji. The first one had barely registered what Daisuke had told him and the latter could not believe the boy had agreed so easily. It was all so unexpected to the two friends that they could not even bring themselves to keep their mouths closed.  
  
"What did you say?" asked Keiji, slowly coming out of his shock.  
  
"I said 'okay.' He asked me to be in the play, right? Well," Daisuke explained, "he's my friend and I want to help him and if this will work for him... Hell, I've watched too much Gravitation..." He started giggling nervously, already regretting having given in to Dark's request.  
  
"That's great, Dark-kun!" Keiji smiled mischievously as he turned to his friend. "Now you won't be nervous," he added as an afterthought, clearly making fun of the boy.  
  
"Yes, no, I won't, I'll be..." Dark mumbled incoherently as he tried with all of his might to force his brain to work; he needed to process all that information somehow.  
  
"I'm curious, though," Daisuke stated thoughtfully, addressing Keiji. "If you two belong to the same acting school... why didn't you play the, um, _boyfriend_ role? I mean, you're his friend, too."  
  
Keiji scratched his head and laughed in a goofy way before answering, "ah, but I already have a part in the play... I'm supposed to be Dark's boyfriend's friend, the insufferable homophobe."  
  
"Oh," Daisuke replied, "but... isn't there someone to be the boyfriend? Won't he get mad at me for stealing his part?"  
  
"Nah," Keiji waved him off, "don't worry about that... after all, we haven't found the boyfriend yet... no one really wants to play that part, though I don't know why..."  
  
Daisuke's left eye twitched as he focused his attention on Dark. The boy had a suspicious half-smile on his face and was looking silly in his dream-like state. It was quite the picture, Daisuke decided. The redhead turned to dress up, but stopped mid-step to talk to Keiji. "There's only one condition, though," he told him, "we are going to keep this secret, even from Krad and Satoshi." Keiji nodded once and gestured with his hand over his mouth as if he were zipping it. Then -and speaking of Rome- he left the dressing room and went to bother Krad and his cousin. Daisuke turned to look at Dark once more; the boy had finally got over his shock and was getting dressed. The redhead looked flushed as he tore his gaze away from the sight of a pair of boxers. Dark smiled, humming happily as he minded his own business and ignored everything else but Daisuke's agreement.  
  
"What's wrong with him?" asked Satoshi as he walked inside the dressing room to talk to his friends. Daisuke mumbled something about having no clue and continued changing. The blue-haired boy waved a hand in front of Dark's eyes, but the only response he got was a happy sigh. Shaking his head, he turned to tell Daisuke that Krad and Keiji wanted them five to go have lunch together. Daisuke agreed and, once they managed to take Dark from out of his reverie, they dragged him to where the two blond boys were and headed for the nearest fast-food restaurant.  
  
"I have to admit," Krad told the four of them as they munched on their hamburgers, "that I was surprised at the improvement. You were... not so horrible." Dark elbowed him in the ribs, making him choke on a french fry. Once he managed to swallow, he poked his tongue out at the boy. Daisuke and Satoshi shook their heads while Keiji snickered. He had his mind set in other matters, for one, introducing Daisuke to his and Dark's acting class.  
  
-o-  
  
The day next to the play, everyone turned to either giggle or squeak at the sight of Dark. The girls had stopped chasing after Krad and Satoshi to send love letters to the boy, making him flush and then brag about having fans. Daisuke couldn't hide his jealousy anymore and it was making him nervous that Dark seemed so comfortable with all the attention.  
  
Satoshi dragged him to the furthest corner of an empty room during lunch break. He wanted Daisuke to admit once and for all that he was jealous and why instead of simply sulking his way through the halls.  
  
"What do you want?" asked Daisuke irritably. Satoshi raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't complain. Daisuke could be quite complicated when he wanted to and he knew just how to handle him.  
  
"I want to know what is going on with you," he answered. "Yesterday, everything seemed fine and today you're seething with rage over who-knows-what. What the hell happened, Daisuke? Did someone hurt you?"  
  
"No," he quickly replied. Then he added, as an afterthought, "at least not intentionally."  
  
"Is this about Dark?"  
  
A nod. Satoshi sighed, letting his body collapse to the ground as he sat cross-legged. Dragging his friend down with him, he looked at him in the eye and motioned for him to talk. "It's just that," he stammered, "I can't stand him being all... conceited about the attention he's getting."  
  
"Why does it bother you so much? Would you rather have that attention set on you?"  
  
"No!" Daisuke snapped. "No, I just..."  
  
Satoshi snickered, making his friend frown at him. "I cannot believe this," he said, "you're jealous because of the girls that want to get in his pants?"  
  
Daisuke blushed crimson and looked away. "You didn't have to be so blunt..."  
  
"Yes, I had to," Satoshi replied still snickering, "otherwise you wouldn't have told me."  
  
"Good point." Daisuke took a deep breath before he started speaking again. "I can't stand this anymore," he told Satoshi. "I want to let him know of my feelings, but I don't want to be rejected! And judging by his reaction to all those girls...."  
  
"Now you're not making any sense," Satoshi told him, harshly cutting him off. "He's just kidding around, it probably helps him overcome his feelings of embarrassment." Daisuke shook his head, disbelieving. "Yes, Daisuke, that's what he's doing," he insisted. "He never liked the attention, always trying to keep to himself, why would he have changed?"  
  
"It doesn't matter!" Daisuke spat annoyed. "The thing is, I know he's going to reject me."  
  
"Then you are more idiotic than I ever thought you were," Satoshi replied, earning himself a not very effective glare and a mock gesture of hurt. "Believe what you want, Daisuke, but if you don't try to speak to him, you'll never know if you were right or wrong." Satoshi grinned wickedly at him before telling him, "Remember that well-known phrase, Daisuke: it is better to have loved and lost and to have never loved at all."  
  
"When did you get so corny and... predictable?"  
  
"Shut up, you didn't know I was going to say that!"  
  
"Yes, I did."  
  
"Did not!"  
  
"Did too!"  
  
"Oh, just shut it..."  
  
They spent a few more minutes in silence. Neither was uttering a single word nor did they move; they just breathed and looked around the room, trying to distract themselves. Satoshi wanted to laugh at Daisuke's naiveté, but his conscience stopped him. He checked his expensive wristwatch; they had enough time to run upstairs into the terrace and have lunch with their friends.  
  
The blue-haired boy got to his feet and dragged his friend out of the room and into a corridor, where they turned left and found the stairs. As he climbed up each step, Daisuke's stomach started filling with annoying hyperactive butterflies. He was very nervous, almost close to hysterics and he didn't know why. He supposed it had something to do with what he'd talked to Satoshi about. Maybe he was afraid the boy might tell Dark, or even worse, Krad. Still, shaking his head, he decided that it was stupid to think such things. Satoshi wouldn't do any of those, after all; he could be trusted.  
  
"Ne, where were you two?" greeted them one flushed-looking Keiji Saga. Daisuke already feared the worst.  
  
"What's with the flushed face?" The redhead ask, completely ignoring the blond's question. Keiji raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck as he laughed nervously; Krad looked away, seemingly absorbed in the fascinating colour of his rice pudding. Something was decidedly out of place, Daisuke gladly suspected and Satoshi secretly agreed. Dark was looking between the two blond boys, finally setting his gaze on Daisuke and raising his arms, defeated; he honestly didn't have the faintest clue of what could have happened to those two.  
  
Daisuke, practically forced by his dear friend Satoshi, walked to where Dark was and flopped down on the floor next to him. He noticed Dark didn't have anything to eat and, while he offered to share his obento, he asked him about it, simply trying to make non-embarrassing conversation.  
  
"I had one, but," he snickered, "a girl came crashing over me and sent it flying to Kami-sama-knows-where..."  
  
"Oh," was all the response he got.  
  
Then, as Daisuke set the obento box on his lap, slightly inclined to his left for Dark to have easy access, the purple-haired teen surprised him with a question he wasn't expecting. "Um, what you said yesterday..." he stammered, blushing as he spoke the words, "did you mean it?"  
  
"What?" Daisuke asked for reassurance; he already knew what he was referring to, but he didn't want to chance a wrong answer.  
  
"You know... you... agreed to..." Dark was having trouble to complete his sentence. Fortunately, what he said was enough for Daisuke to understand and he cut him off.  
  
"Oh, that," he laughed brightly. "Yeah," he admitted quietly, "I meant it."  
  
"Good," Dark sighed relieved, "good." He reached out to take a piece of onigiri, unintentionally brushing his hand on Daisuke's; he hadn't noticed the boy reaching out his hand as well. The contact sent shivers running like thunderbolts down their backs, electric bolts that made their eyes widen and their neck hairs stand on end. They both tried to avoid the other's gaze as they argued over who should have the piece of onigiri. "Sorry," Dark mumbled.  
  
"No, please," Daisuke replied, "you can have it."  
  
"No, it's your obento box, you have it."  
  
"No, I insist," Daisuke said, sounding almost pleading.  
  
"You are so pathetic," Krad told them as he took the piece of onigiri himself. "Arguing about this," he said pointing to the ball of rice in his hand. "You look like two... schoolboys in love or something..." He went back to his conversation with Satoshi, snickering as he ate what he'd took from his friend's obento box.  
  
"That was..." Daisuke spoke, not very sure of what he wanted to say.  
  
"...Krad," Dark completed the sentence, knowing exactly what he meant. He was glad for the interruption though, even when Krad had made fun of them both. At least it had taken the blush off their faces... almost. He once again turned to Daisuke, who had pressed a piece of onigiri into his palm, smiling. He returned the gesture and bit on the delicious food and kept silently to himself.  
  
"So," Daisuke started saying, "when will you introduce me to your acting class?"  
  
Clearly uncomfortable at having to discuss certain matters, Dark bit again on the onigiri in the hopes of Daisuke forgetting about his question. But as he swallowed, he noticed the redhead was still expecting an answer from him. He could not believe he had let Keiji fool him to actually ask Daisuke about joining the play's cast. "Our next class is in two days," he told his friend. "You can come with us then, if you want to."  
  
"Sure," Daisuke replied smiling. _Could it be he actually wants to do this?_ Dark asked himself, unable to answer. Shrugging, he went back to eating. Thankfully, Daisuke didn't ask any more questions.  
  
-o-  
  
The two friends introduced the redhead to the acting group a few days after having had that 'conversation.' Daisuke was his usual, friendly self and seemed to get along very well with everyone. Professor Azuma gave him the script, testing him as he read his parts. Having passed that test, he was officially incorporated to the play's cast. Dark was relieved to say the least; he couldn't even imagine kissing a boy he didn't like in front of everyone. Not that anyone knew he liked Daisuke, or any boy, to begin with...  
  
Still, everyone seemed content, whatever the reasons were. The only problem was that they only had two weeks of rehearsals before the play, which was quite a short period of time, considering the length of it and all of the things that would also have to be taken care of. To make things easier, they split the class into different groups with different tasks to complete. The main group, the one where the play's cast belonged, had the only task of rehearsing. The second and third groups were in charge of setting the scenery and advertising the play, respectively. Daisuke found himself not-so-strangely at ease with his role and also with the whole environment. He had to admit that acting felt really good, as if he were draining his emotions through each line; it was relaxing, almost blissfully so. And having Dark so close to him made things a thousand times better...  
  
The two boys had enough time over those two weeks of rehearsals to get to know each other more than they already did, even at a more intimate level -even when they skipped the kissing scene-. Still, it was always awkward for either Dark or Daisuke to tell the other he loved him, even if it was just a few words on a script. As time passed, it got harder for them to pretend they weren't attracted to each other and the situations at hand offered so many possibilities it seemed abnormal not to consider them. Unfortunately, in the end, both of them decided against their instincts and kept rehearsing their parts, speaking 'iloveyous' in little voices they seemed afraid of letting out.  
  
-o-  
  
The play took place in upper high-school, where a sixteen year old exchange student arrives. The boy is shy and keeps to himself most of the time, afraid of rejection. He spends his days alone, until one day when he gets hit in the face with a football on his way home. A cheerful boy of his age runs to apologise and they get to know each other. The two fell in love at first sight, becoming a couple just as soon. They had kept his affair a secret, but the cheerful boy's friend finds out about it and tries to get them apart. He sets a trap, making the boys believe they had been cheated on. Because of this, the main character decides to go back to his country. The cheerful boy finds out about his so-called-friend's plot and runs to the airport where his beloved's plain is about to take off. This last scene was taking place at the moment, full theatre-room and everything. Dark was sitting in a chair, the scenery reminiscent of an airport's waiting room, Daisuke kneeling before him with tears rolling down his cheeks as he cried his speech.  
  
"...and all we've believed in has been a lie. I'm sorry for not trying to find out the truth sooner, but there's nothing I can do!" he cried into Dark's lap, tugging at his clothes in desperation.  
  
"I'm sorry, Masuo," Dark replied, tears starting to flow after having heard his beloved's declaration. "My family is waiting for me, I have to go."  
  
"Aren't you going to say anything else??" Daisuke spat bitterly, angry and hurt at the same time. "I can't live without you, can't you see? These two weeks we've been apart have torn up my heart; if you leave me, I'll die." There was no response from Dark. A beeping sound could be heard in the distance and a woman announced the boy's flight.  
  
"I have to go."  
  
"I beg you, Tenryuu," Daisuke pleaded, "don't leave me."  
  
"There's nothing else I can do," Dark said, making the audience sob and sniffle and eat at their handkerchiefs. "I'm sorry, Masuo, I wish I had more time to show you..."  
  
"To show me what, Tenryuu? Maybe how much you despise me? Please, don't play with my heart."  
  
"No," Dark said, tilting up Daisuke's chin to meet his glassy stare as he smiled bitterly, tears finally falling freely down his face. The audience held their breaths as Dark's last words became audible and the script seemed faraway and non-existent: "...to show you how much I love you."  
  
_This is it,_ the two boys thought in perfect unison.  
  
Dark leant forward to bring his lips close to Daisuke's. It seemed surreal, a fairy-tale experience, better than anything the two had ever dreamt. Dark was gentle and his lips were soft and sweet on Daisuke's. They tasted of cinnamon and honey, Daisuke decided as he let himself be wrapped in his beloved's arms and returned the kiss with passion. It got deeper with each second, more and more addictive, making the boys drunk. They had long stopped following the script as they simply let out all of their repressed emotions through the kiss. The female audience would have clapped and cheered, but they were all too caught up staring wide-eyed and drying their watery eyes.  
  
The voice announcing the flight was heard again and the two boys were forced to pull away. Staring into Dark's eyes for the last time, Daisuke said, "we'll meet again." Dark nodded, before standing up and disappearing into a small group of people, leaving to take his flight.  
  
The red velvet curtains closed and the play was suddenly over. Minutes later, the entire cast walked together to the front of the stage, Dark and Daisuke in the centre of it, and greeted the public as they were given an ovation. Daisuke hugged his friend as a white light blinded him for a moment. He became scared; he didn't want to imagine what could happen if someone found out about this.  
  
-o-o-o-

_Ah, how I hated to write this chapter...! I swear, this Writer's Block thing is going to kill me. Ah, well, notes, notes: this chapter's title is my favourite L'arc En Ciel song, from their most recent album, Smile. I love that album... About the names: Azuma is none other than the superbly cool professor of GOA in "Candidate for Goddess;" Masuo is my beloved Masuo Fuguno-san from "If I see you in my Dreams," and Tenryuu is my favourite character from "Sakende Yaruze!" (shounen-ai manga). Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and if you did, please, review. You have no idea of how much I need some of those at times like these... Still, I managed to write YET another DNAngel fic. Its name is Kirei, go check it out, the pairing will... surprise you (yes, Krad/Daisuke). Review, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase!_

**Staryday:** imagine... Daisuke the seme... it's sounds hilarious... and bizarre... anyway...... glad you liked it, I'm trully struggling to get these chapters done. Hopefully, it will all settle down with next chapter. Or so I hope.  
**KageKitsune16:** I hope this has answered your question. Sorry I rushed things up, but I need to get this thing flowing before I completely lose my inspiration and am forced to stop writing. Please, don't let that happen... review, those little things help wonders .  
**baka-chibi-puffs:** here is your update, sorry but the three-day delay, by the way.  
**myinuyasha04:** hell yeah. That's all I'm going to say vv!  
**Aroa Nehring:** ya podés chequearlo, se llama Kirei y es super triste... pero es cute de alguna manera... yo tengo el mismo problema para dejar reviews, estoy en una máquina de acceso público en un cyber amigo y me bajo las cosas y las leo en casa... cansa y a veces no puedo subir cosas por quién sabe qué, pero... bueno, menos es nada, yo siempre lo digo. Bueno, muchacha, yo tengo 19, cumplo 20 el 27 de Enero (soy una vieja... --") y soy de Argentina. Mi MSN es shokoreito(arroba)hotmail(punto)com. De paso, y ya que hablás español, le hago propaganda a mi bloggy-thingie, Yami no Giyu, en http(2puntos,barra)www(punto)geocities(punto)com(barra)yaminogiyu .  
**Pyro Demon:** here it is, I hope you liked it.  
**darksaphire:** yeah, I'll take your word. Need.More.DarkxDai!!! Um, yeah, well, cough I hope you liked this, kisu-kisu!!!


	8. Chapter 8: Innermost

A/N: _Italics_ represent people's thoughts, usually Daisuke's.

-o-o-o-

**Aoi.**_  
Chapter 8: Innermost... _  
  
"Um, Krad?"  
  
"Yes, Satoshi?"  
  
"I think you should take a look at this."  
  
"What, the school paper?"  
  
"Yeah, turn to page 5."  
  
"Oh."  
  
-o-  
  
Daisuke was in a good mood that day, his smile stretching from his left ear to his right one. He thought he could hear bells resounding sweetly from afar and little birds chirping happy tunes that made his heart skip a few beats. Everything was beautiful in his perfect little world. Yes, life couldn't get any better for him.  
  
"Dai-chan, Dark is here!"  
  
Well, maybe it could.  
  
Daisuke quickly pulled on his school uniform and rushed downstairs where his friend was waiting for him. Just as their gazes met, the images from the other night flowed back into their minds and they both looked away blushing. Emiko, who was standing between the two boys, frowned and wondered what could be the secret between them. Then again, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.  
  
The two boys headed out of the Niwa household and into the open streets of Azumano. The sky was clear and the weather was warm though not unbearably so; it was a perfect day, indeed. Daisuke looked up at his companion; Dark had a pensive look on his face and his gaze was focused in a faraway spot. The redhead looked back to the floor as he walked, he was really happy and he was worried his face might have betrayed him. What had happened in the play the other night was more than he had ever hoped for and even though it had been a weird, surprising experience, neither of them had uttered a single word about it. He wanted to scream to Dark how he felt like, but he hadn't gathered the courage yet. And, besides, Dark had been a professional, nothing in that kiss was real, it was all acting. Or so he liked to tell himself.  
  
Dark walked calmly beside his friend, his breathing even and looking so serene one might have confused him for a sleepwalker... or a zombie. He felt as if floating on clouds, he saw everything as if from afar and his hearing echoed; it was rather scary, Dark decided. He turned to his friend in a moment of lucidity and everything seemed to clear. Daisuke met his gaze and soon the world materialised again; he could see and hear like everyone else and, of course, he was no longer calm. Yes, everything had gone back to normal.  
  
"Um, Dai-kun," Dark risked saying, carefully avoiding his friend's gaze.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I meant to say this earlier, but..." the void of silence that had stretched between them made Daisuke nervous. He felt butterflies fluttering annoyingly in his stomach as he impatiently waited for Dark to speak. Maybe that kiss had meant something after all... "Thank you," the purple-haired teen said.  
  
"N-- nani?" Daisuke asked not very intelligently with his eyes wide open and a genuine look of confusion evident on his face.  
  
"I... wanted to thank you for being my, um, partner in the play," Dark explained everything, but Daisuke refused to understand. He wanted something more than this, he deserved much better. Then, if Dark wasn't going to say it, he was going to.  
  
"Dark-kun, I think there's something you should kno--"  
  
"Well, look at the two lovebirds..." a sneering voice mocked the two boys. A dark-haired boy walked past them, snickering with malice at the two boys. "My, who would have imagined our famous Daisuke Niwa was a fag? And Dark Mousy, looking all tough and unreachable... Niwa's bitch, ne? You could have done a lot better..."  
  
By this moment Dark was fuming, glaring daggers at the idiot insulting not only him but the boy he loved. He stepped closer to the offender and crossed his arms over his chest, looking defiant. "And who are you to say such things?"  
  
"My name is Funabashi," the boy declared, his mouth twisting into a smirk as he looked up at Dark's angry face, "you should remember your classmates' names."  
  
"I try to ignore those whom I consider rather idiotic."  
  
Funabashi's smirk widened and he raised an eyebrow. "Why would you change the subject, Dark-kun?" he asked all of a sudden making Dark frown at him. "You never denied being a fag," the boy carried on, "maybe it is that... you truly are...?"  
  
Dark's eyes narrowed into tiny slits, making him look murderous. He wasn't sure of how to reply to that insinuation, but he decided he didn't care about the results. The only thing he wanted was for this Funabashi guy to leave him and Daisuke alone. "I'm not going to speak for him," he said, pointing to Daisuke, "but I have no problem in admitting my being gay." Daisuke deadpanned. Of all the things he thought Dark would say, this was the least expected; he was, for once, truthfully stunned and speechless. "And, before you ask," Dark carried on with his speech, "I'd like to make perfectly clear that we -as in Daisuke and I- are nothing more than friends. Now," he spoke threateningly as he lowered his face to evenly meet Funabashi's gaze, "I'd like to know, before you run away afraid of getting hurt, how you reached that insane conclusion about my being "Niwa's bitch," as you kindly put it."  
  
Funabashi was shivering now, facing a Dark he'd never known. Suddenly feeling apprehensive, he handed the day's school paper to Dark who took it without ever taking his gaze off the boy's. Dark gestured for him to go on and Funabashi went on walking to school without making a single noise. Daisuke was still stunned, the power Dark had over the boy had somehow aroused him. _That was so... sexy_, he thought, feeling a little bit guilty.  
  
Dark turned to smile at him, finally returning to his usual self, as he unfolded the paper for them both to see. Flipping through the pages, they got to the 'entertainment' section, where a picture of two boys kissing onstage made them freeze. Daisuke read aloud the article accompanying the picture, flinching with each word:  
  
_'Onegai,' the long time awaited play by the Hiro no Yume theatre group was, as expected, a great success. With all tickets sold, this romantic masterpiece gathered over a thousand shounen-ai fans in his first and only show. This is a record in what relates to our underground scene and has guaranteed this group's fame for years to come.  
  
The plot is rather simple, but the way in which has been written and the beauty of its staging gave it a mature look. It is also necessary to stress the accuracy of the main actors' performances. Dark Mousy, in his role of Tenryuu Yokoyama, managed to make us, the audience, feel the same emotions he felt; insecurity, fear, shame, happiness, everything he felt we did twice. Certainly, we will be hearing more of him in the future. But of course, he wouldn't have been able to pull such a perfect performance without the help of his co-protagonist, Daisuke Niwa. This boy, unknown even to the underground circuit, played the part of Masuo; he spoke each word with such sincerity it was hard to believe this was nothing more than a mere act. In fact, more than one person imagined them to be more than mates. Here are some comments from random members of the audience..._  
  
"Kami-sama..." Dark moaned as the information finally sunk in. "They know... the whole school knows... Satoshi and Krad know... everyone knows..."  
  
"I can't believe this," Daisuke told him, "I just cannot."  
  
"I see you've found out," a voice spoke carefully. Krad approached the two boys with his cousin and Saga clinging to his arm, like a bunny hugging a carrot. "You had it well-kept, this secret, I mean."  
  
"I thought you trusted us," Satoshi feigned disappointment. "Then again, I can perfectly understand why you did it..."  
  
The two boys remained speechless. Deciding they weren't ready to face school that day, Keiji, Satoshi and Krad dragged them to the blue-haired boy's apartment. Once they reached the safety of the building, Dark and Daisuke were forced to explain everything about the play, the decision of keeping it secret and the now infamous kiss. Keiji already knew everything, of course, but neither Satoshi nor Krad seemed the least bit surprised either. Not only about the kiss itself, their eyes betrayed their opinion: neither could understand how, after all that had happened, the two lovebirds hadn't confessed their feelings towards each other yet. Still, they let it pass, spending the entire day fooling around, watching TV and playing games to distract the two boys from their problems. When it was time for them to go home, Keiji, Dark and Daisuke waved their friends goodbye and headed for their respective houses. Before they split ways, though, Keiji spoke.  
  
"I know you're still upset about what happened, but... the play was really good and you did an excellent job, so you should both be proud. I mean, be a little more professional! It was only acting after all, ne?" Dark and Daisuke blushed -it seemed they had done it quite a lot of times that day-, the former wanting to strangle his dear friend. "Ah, anyway, you ought to be just as happy as the rest of the cast is, hell, even more. I didn't even get mentioned in the article!" Both boys turned to glare at Keiji, who laughed nervously. "Ah, well, never mind... the point is, I'll be waiting for you both at home, tonight at midnight."  
  
"What for?" Daisuke curiously asked.  
  
"For the celebration party! We beat all the other plays of the underground circuit, we had a thousand-people audience! And the reviews for the play have all been good, not only in our dear school paper but in every other daily publication of Azumano!" Daisuke's head snapped up, realising his grandfather read the paper every morning after he left for school. _Oh, no, now my entire family knows as well... I want to die..._ "I won't take 'no' for an answer, okay? If you're not in my apartment tonight by half past twelve, I will personally hunt you down and drag you there if necessary. See you then, Dai-chan!"  
  
Dark waved at him as he walked away with Keiji. Daisuke shook his head and moved onwards to his home, praying with each step that his grandfather had been kind enough to keep his mouth shut. But just as he opened the door to his home, he realised that was asking much.  
  
Emiko, Kosuke and Daiki Niwa were standing cross-armed by the door, all of them three wearing their best 'you-got-some-explaining-to-do-boy' looks. Daisuke sighed and looked down as he apologised. "I'm sorry, mother, father, grandfather; I shouldn't have done that."  
  
The three grown-ups looked at each other puzzled and then back to the boy before them. It was Daiki who spoke. "Daisuke, we're not mad at you for doing... that," he said, feeling a little uncomfortable. "We want to know why you kept this secret."  
  
"Yes, Dai-chan," Emiko told her son, "if you ever have a problem, you can tell any of us about it."  
  
Daisuke furrowed his brow in a questioning look. "I don't have a problem," he said and it was true. Emiko smiled a motherly smile at him and nodded, indicating she didn't believe him. "I don't have a problem," Daisuke stated once again, this time louder and more firmly than before.  
  
"Son," Kosuke addressed him, "there has to be a reason for you to do something like this."  
  
"Of course, there is!" Daisuke burst out without even thinking, "I love Dark and I wanted to get close to him, that's all, I don't have a--" the redhead covered his mouth, realising what he'd said out loud and without intending to.  
  
"WHAT?" his parents screamed in unison.  
  
"Um, I... have to go, too much homework..." Daisuke laughed and backed away as discreetly as he could, only to be caught by his father's hands.  
  
"Are you telling me that my only son, my Daisuke, is... is... is... Oh, I can't even SAY it!" Kosuke screeched, releasing Daisuke and covering his eyes as he cried in a rather dramatic way.  
  
"I'm not going to have grandkids??? Oh, why, why are you so cruel, Dai-chan???" Emiko broke into tears and clung to her husband as he did so.  
  
"Um," Daiki said, "I think you should give them time to adjust to this, um, turn of events." Daisuke was thankful, to say the least, to his grandfather. "I mean, they're not as bright as I am..."  
  
"You knew about this?" Daisuke asked him, unsettled about his statement.  
  
"Well," Daiki snickered, "I would have been blind not to notice!"  
  
Daisuke didn't know if he ought to be glad or scared. Heading upstairs into his room, he dropped all of his things and lay on the bed. That day had been of the longest in his entire life yet and it threatened to get even worse. He looked at his watch; it was already seven, he had barely four hours before getting ready for Keiji's party. _Do I really want to go?_ He asked himself, though he already knew the answer. _Of course, I want to. I haven't told Dark what I felt yet, I have to do something... and I have to do it tonight._ With that last thought, he fell asleep.  
  
-o-  
  
It was half past ten. Dark was preparing his dinner, a cheese sandwich; he wasn't very gifted in the culinary area and he was very tired after a long day of work. He had to catch up to all of the working hours he'd missed the past weeks before his boss would fire him. He sighed as he placed the sandwich on a plate and carried it to the living room along with a glass of apple juice. He sat in front of the TV, he wanted to clear his mind before it was time to go to Keiji's. He flipped through the channels, trying to find something decent to watch; he was rather picky with TV programs, actually. He realised there wasn't anything of his interest at the time, not even anime, so he settled for Utaban. At least those guys were funny.  
  
Dark was about to munch on his food when the telephone rang. Setting the sandwich back on the plate, he lazily walked to his bedroom, where the telephone was. "Hello?" he asked to the one interrupting his dinner.  
  
"Hi, Dark, it's me... Daisuke."  
  
"Oh, um, how are you?"  
  
"I could be doing a lot better actually..."  
  
"Why, what happened?"  
  
"Long story, I'll tell you later..."  
  
"Oh, so you're coming to the party?"  
  
"Yeah, in fact, I was thinking... would it be alright if I picked you up at half past eleven? It's just that, I don't really know where Keiji's house is."  
  
"Sure, we'll go together..." Dark paused momentarily to take in the last word he'd spoken. Gulping down the lump in his throat, he told Daisuke he'd be waiting for him and hung up abruptly. Daisuke, on the other side of the line was a little disquieted by the unexpected reaction, but he let it pass. After all, this night would prove to be a decisive one and he didn't want to get any more nervous than he already was by thinking nonsense.  
  
Dark went back to his couch in front of the TV and munched on his sandwich as he'd intended to before being interrupted by his friend. The people of Utaban were interviewing some new pop artist, whom Dark wasn't interested in. He turned off the TV before he'd finished eating. The sandwich didn't take much longer to disappear though, and soon Dark was doing the washing up of all the things he'd used. After he was done, he went to his bedroom to pick a few clothes form his wardrobe and headed straight for the bathroom to have a much needed bubble bath. He needed to relax a bit, after all.  
  
As he hid himself in the pinkish foam, he let his thoughts flow freely. Everything that had happened in the past week, from his boss' warning to the kiss with Daisuke, was coming back to his mind in violent floods. He hadn't taken time to simply ponder on his things since that last time he sat on a park bench alone with himself at the late hours of night. He thought it was weird to be doing that, it didn't seem that much useful, but he found he couldn't go on if he didn't do it. It was like a primary need for him, to simply rest for a while and think; it was as if he were studying himself through his thoughts. And after doing that, only after having done so, he would know where he stood and what to do next. Otherwise, everything was nothing more than a blurry mist before his eyes. _I'm weird..._ he thought with a smirk on his face as he snorted.  
  
_Ding dong._  
  
The doorbell ringing distracted him from himself and brought him back to reality. He checked on the bathroom wall's clock and realised that it was already half past eleven. He guessed that was probably Daisuke standing behind his door and climbed out of the tub dripping wet and cursing, taking in the wrinkles on his skin. _Damn..._  
  
_Ding ding dong._  
  
"In a minute!" he yelled from the bathroom as he dried himself off and pulled on a bathrobe. The ringing ceased; apparently, Daisuke had heard him. He made sure his feet were dry -he didn't want to leave any footprints on the apartment's carpet- and headed for the door. Making sure it was Daisuke who waited for him, he opened up the door and stepped aside, letting his friend enter his home. "Hi," he told the redhead in a tiny, embarrassed voice. When Daisuke saw him covered with only a robe, his hair soaking wet and looking tousled from washing... well, the indecent teenager's thoughts running wildly in his mind turned him into a tomato, his cheeks going a bright shade of red.  
  
As Daisuke looked away, Dark said, "I'm sorry, Daisuke, I'll have to leave you alone for a while; I need to get dressed," he finished, finding himself blushing and barely noticing the similar look on his friend's face. "Help yourself," he told the boy, "there's juice in the fridge and cookies in the cupboard under the sink; you can turn on the TV or the stereo, I'll be back in a moment." With that, he walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind.  
  
Daisuke was left standing in the same spot where he'd first spotted his friend's cotton clad figure. Shaking his head, he hesitatingly walked to the kitchen and helped himself with a glass of juice. He didn't know why, but his throat had gone dry all of a sudden. Sipping on his cold drink, he went to the living room and turned on the TV. He zapped through the channels, one after the other, finding nothing decent to see. Turning off the TV, he simply sat and tried to relax as he measured the words he'd be telling Dark later that evening.  
  
Just as he'd promised, Dark was back after only a few minutes of getting ready for the party. Doing justice to his name, he was clad in black clothes; leather trousers, a tight, sleeveless shirt that glittered in the shadows and a stud-belt. His hair, though still wet, looked as gorgeous as ever, falling freely around his face and curling on its ends. He was, Daisuke decided, simply stunning; beautiful.  
  
"So, should we get going?" Dark asked. His redheaded friend answered with a nod and they both left the apartment. Dark locked the door behind him and called for the elevator. They waited for a few minutes, but the thing refused to work. "Ne, Dai-chan, was this thing working when you came here?" Daisuke nodded and Dark frowned. Shrugging, he said "then I guess someone left the door open. Ah, well, it's only three floors after all..." The two boys started walking down the steps in silence. The only sound between them came from the friction between Dark's trousers' left and right legs. "This is what I hate about these things," he told Daisuke, feeling a bit embarrassed.  
  
"That's okay," Daisuke told him between a sudden fit of giggles, "I'm not doing any better." He referred to the fact that he was wearing rubber cargo-pants that sent warm breezes through his legs every time he moved.  
  
"At least those don't speak..."  
  
"If you hate them that much," Daisuke reasoned as he tried stifling his laughter, "why do you wear them?"  
  
Snickering, Dark stopped in his tracks and gestured to his entire body. "What do you think?" Daisuke didn't respond, he merely blushed and looked away. Suddenly uncomfortable, Dark went on walking, occasionally checking behind his back to see if Daisuke was following.  
  
The walk to Keiji's apartment was uneventful. Again, there was nothing but the sound of Dark's trousers reverberating in the echoing silence as they moved forwards. They would meet the other's gaze and smile from time to time, but that only helped them feel even more nervous than they already were. "Um, this is Keiji's place," Dark told Daisuke once they'd reached an ancient-looking building. He rang the bell and waited for Keiji to come down to let them in. The blond didn't take long, as he came bouncing up and down the stretch between the foot of the stairs and the entrance of the building where his friends were waiting for him.  
  
"Hi!" he greeted them cheerfully. "I'm so glad you could make it," he told Daisuke, "I knew this thug was going to come, but I was worried about you." Getting closer to the redhead, he whispered, "ne, did he promise you something in exchange for your attending the party?" He raised his eyebrows for emphasis, making Daisuke blush so red he thought he'd be having a pressure rise. "Ne, Dark, don't get angry with me..." Keiji told his friend who was glaring daggers at him. "What do you want me to say? Just look how you're dressed, anyone would misunderstand..."  
  
"I hate you so much..."  
  
"No, you don't, you know that." Keiji smiled happily as he held his friends by their hands and dragged them into the building and up the stairs to the second floor. One could easily tell which one was Keiji's apartment. For one, there was only one apartment per floor, but also because the boy's door was a bright yellow colour with a bunch of small, colourful banners plastered on its surface. Some of them simply read the boy's name, while others had phrases such as 'whip it good!' or 'love shack' It was weird, to say the least.  
  
"Do you really live here?" Daisuke asked him.  
  
Keiji turned to smile a toothy smile at him as he goofily answered, "yeah, cool, isn't it?" Daisuke looked at Dark who looked away as they both tried not to laugh at the ridiculously decorated door. It felt out of place in the old, rusty building painted grey; it was yellow, after all... But nevertheless, Keiji seemed quite fond of that door. _And just why am I thinking about that bloody door, anyway?_ Daisuke asked himself.  
  
When the three friends entered the apartment, they were greeted by the happy (-ly drunk) people of the _Hiro no Yume_ group. Some of them were on top of a wooden stage singing and dancing to 'Gekiai Merry Go Round,' a song by Psycho Le Cému, Keiji's favourite band. It was rather fun to see, Daisuke decided between claps and cheers and some distant catcalls. Once the song was over and the five actors got down the unsafe-looking stage, the redhead noticed there was a karaoke system in the left corner. He feared the worst when someone, a boy named Yuu, pushed him towards the stage. He hated singing and the idea of jumping onstage and singing in front of all those people didn't seem much appealing. Thankfully, Dark was there to save his honour as he volunteered to sing the Sailor Moon opening, 'Moonlight Densetsu.'  
  
_Okay, now this is... scary,_ Daisuke thought worriedly. Somehow, the image of a leather-clad Dark singing shoujo anime songs didn't seem to fit. Yes, something was either deliberately wrong or he simply ignored a few aspects of Dark's life. And yet, as he stared at the silly dancing of his friend as he sang, he knew this was the real Dark; the one that only sought happiness. Yes, Dark, who had to suffer the most awful disgraces, now wanted to live his life the best he could.  
  
When the song was over, a group of (still) sober people had gathered in the living room. They were sitting in a circle and in its centre was an empty bottle of vodka. Dark patted his friend on the back and motioned for him to drink something, as he handed him a glass of beer. Daisuke was hesitant, but took it nonetheless. Only a second later, they were being dragged into the circle by Keiji who sat them opposite each other. The blond sat next to Daisuke to prevent his running away. Dark made a gesture of apology from the other side of the circle as he was forced to spin the bottle. Granted, it pointed at a boy. _There are only five girls in this group and none of them is playing! Are all of these people gay?_ Daisuke asked himself feeling genuinely curious. Still, his curiosity was soon replaced for utter jealousy and a feeling of disappointment: the bottle was pointing at none other than Keiji.  
  
"Oh, joyous day!" Keiji squealed, making Dark snicker as he approached him. Their lips met for a very brief instant in which Daisuke fumed and Dark felt guilty for unknown reasons. "Ah, you could have been a bit more passionate, Dark-kun! We've known each other since we were little, after all..." Keiji exclaimed, pretending to be hurt. Dark laughed and poked his tongue out at him, regretting it the moment he laid eyes on Daisuke; the redhead was looking sullen and upset and he somehow guessed it was his fault.  
  
It was now Keiji's turn to spin the bottle, stopping with its neck pointing at himself. "Um, well, this means I get to choose..." He rubbed his hands and snickered with malice as his friends laughed. "I want to kiss..." knowing it would probably cost him dearly, he risked everything he had with his choice. "I want to kiss Daisuke!" _I so love to bother my friends,_ he thought gleefully. Keiji looked to his right, where the redhead sat staring at the floor and seething with rage; he had no idea of what was about to happen, so caught up in his own thoughts he was. "Ne, Dai-chan..." Keiji smiled as the boy looked up. He puckered up his lips and Daisuke shook his head frantically, unwilling to kiss him. _This is so embarrassing..._ "Come on, Dai-chan, I'm not that awful a kisser," Keiji teased him and the redhead gave in. He had agreed to play this game and now he had to bear the consequences. Keiji pecked him on the lips sweetly, as if he'd known he had little experience on these things. It was rather soothing in a way and Daisuke felt more at ease with the situation; this was all a game, after all.  
  
Keiji pulled away quickly, not wanting to mess things up that much and passed the bottle to Daisuke. The redhead spun the offered object and prayed for all he was worth that it would point to either Dark or himself. But, as it usually happened, luck poked its tongue out at him and made a very unhappy person of himself. The bottle had stopped in front of a boy he knew from the play's cast; he was the one who played the part of Masuo's brother, Nakaya. Daisuke cursed himself as Nakaya all too happily crawled to where he was to collect his kiss. It was short and very uncomfortable, Daisuke decided, and he was glad it ended soon. This boy spun the bottle and the game kept going in its usual, redundant routine.  
  
Daisuke looked at his watch; it was almost two in the evening and this so-called party was getting more and more boring with each passing minute. To make matters worse, he'd seen Dark kiss at least three more boys, which was something that didn't appeal to him in the slightest. Fortunately, the people of the circle had grown tired of playing and went back to their initial activities: dancing and drinking. Yes, everything was fine once again.  
  
Daisuke grabbed another glass of beer before walking to the couch and sitting down. He was soon followed by Keiji, who took the empty seat beside him. "Are you alright?" the blond asked Daisuke. The redhead didn't respond, he simply glared at him and sipped on his drink. Keiji sighed and looking serious for what Daisuke thought was the first time, he told him, "I didn't know you would get so upset about a stupid, little game..."  
  
Daisuke turned to look at him, the glare still glowering though softened by a thin layer of watery substance. Tears; tears of helplessness he was trying to fight back. "You don't know what you are talking about..."  
  
"Yes, I do," Keiji insisted. "I've always done..."  
  
"What do you mean?" Daisuke asked him, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his T-shirt.  
  
"About..." Making sure no-one could see him, Keiji whispered in the redhead's ear. "I'm talking about you and Dark." Daisuke froze and turned to look at him with a questioning stare. "Yes, I know you like him."  
  
"Then, if you do," Daisuke tried to process the overload of information. "If you know... why did you let him kiss you? Why did you kiss me?" He was starting to cry now, tears softly running down his cheeks as he tried to hide his face from the people in the room.  
  
"It was nothing more than a game!" Keiji tiredly exclaimed, his voice never rising above a whisper. "I was trying to make this entertaining!" With a more wicked twist to his smirk, he looked almost flirtatious. "And besides," he told Daisuke in a mocking way, "you liked my kiss, didn't you?" Daisuke looked away, he was tired of all these games; he just wanted to tell Dark how he felt and have those feelings returned. He wasn't asking for much, or so he liked to think. "Dark loves you," Keiji told him, as if answering to his unasked question. For an instant, the world seemed to stop spinning. Everything either living or lifeless had stopped moving, there was only the even rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the echoing of Keiji's words. Still, as the effects of such blissful statement started to fade, he noticed his surroundings. Everything was real again and he could see and hear everything that was going on in the room. Everything, even the image that shattered his heart into a million pieces.  
  
"If he does love me, as you just told me," he addressed Keiji with such pain in his voice that the blond himself felt hurt. "Why is he kissing another boy?" He finished his question just as he stood to leave. Keiji tried to catch up to him, but he got distracted by the sight of his best friend trying to fight off a boy who was clinging to him for dear life. _Oh, no,_ he complained as he pushed past the dancing people to where Dark was still struggling to get free. _This is going to get ugly..._  
  
"You, idiot! Leave my friend alone!" He screamed as he violently pushed the drunken boy off Dark. The purple-haired teen looked relieved, to say the least. That smile vanished though, once Keiji dragged him towards the door and briefly told him, "Daisuke saw what you did and now he's pissed off; get to him before it's too late." With those last words, Dark found himself standing outside the apartment's door, dumbfounded. Nevertheless, once the meaning of the message sunk in he made a mad dash down the stairs.  
  
When he reached the ground floor, he nearly panicked. There was no-one there and the entrance door was wide open. He cursed his own luck as he ran out of the building and in the direction of Daisuke's house. Just as he'd imagined, he found the boy walking round the corner of a street that headed to his home. He was crying and he looked angry, making Dark feel uncertain about approaching him. Still, he hadn't many choices so he decided to simply follow his instincts.  
  
"Daisuke, wait!" he yelled at the boy. Daisuke looked back and started to run, obviously trying to avoid any contact between them. But Dark was faster and managed to catch up to him and grabbed the boy by his left elbow. The redhead struggled to free himself, but all of his efforts were futile; Dark was not only faster than he was, but also stronger. "What is wrong with you? Why are you so angry?"  
  
"I'm not angry!" Daisuke screamed in a rather unconvincing way.  
  
Dark was still holding onto the boy, but the redhead was putting up such a fight that it was hard to keep him in place. Suddenly exhausted, Dark pushed the boy into a wall and towered over him, trapping him where he was standing with his arms placed on each side of his head. "I didn't do anything to you, Daisuke, why is it that all of a sudden you hate me! I thought we were friends!"  
  
"That is exactly what I thought," Daisuke replied bitterly, "and that is what I tried to change."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
There were a few seconds of dramatic silence. Daisuke sighed and looked up, his red, glassy eyes meeting Dark's. "Haven't you noticed still?" He looked away, setting his gaze on a cat that sat on the far end of the street. He snorted, "Keiji told me you loved me. Can you believe it? For an instant I thought he was telling the truth..."  
  
Dark lowered his gaze to the ground, letting his arms drop from the wall. Snickering bitterly, he let the mask fall. "He was telling the truth."  
  
Daisuke would have listened to the angels singing and the bells ringing if only he hadn't witnessed the earlier scene. He could not believe him, as much as he wanted to, after seeing him kiss another boy. "No, he couldn't have been," he refused to believe him, it was simply impossible. "I saw you kissing that other boy."  
  
"What?" Dark shrieked with disbelief.  
  
"I saw you," Daisuke repeated. "You wouldn't have done that if you really loved me."  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about!" Dark screamed, he wasn't going to let this pass unnoticed.  
  
"You sound just like me only moments ago..." Daisuke tried to snicker, but all that he managed was to prevent an angry sob. "I don't know why Keiji said that, but he sure was wrong..."  
  
"No, he wasn't!" Dark finally exclaimed, fed up with the world and the many twists of fate and life. He was tired of running away, of trying to hide; he was sick of everything and he would throw himself into damnation if he didn't do something about his situation. "I love you, Daisuke. I've tried to hide it, because I thought you would reject me. I still have my doubts, but I'm tired of hiding. I love you. Now, whether you believe me or not, is your problem."  
  
Daisuke met his gaze once again. He could see the sincerity in the boy's eyes, the flush on his cheeks as he made his confession. He could see it all, but there was still one thing he didn't understand. "Why did you kiss him?"  
  
Dark threw his arms up in the air in frustration. This was getting annoying, but he thought he might as well explain before it got any worse. "I didn't do that! The drunken idiot was touching me and trying to kiss me and I kept trying to shove him away!" There was a pause in which Dark made sure Daisuke believed him. He sighed, gathering the courage he needed to speak those last words the kept clouding his thoughts; "the only one I want to kiss... is you."  
  
With that, he brought his lips to meet Daisuke's. Though they had already kissed, nothing could be compared to this. Dark hungrily drunk in the sweetness of Daisuke's mouth, which tasted strongly of beer and salt, he guessed that was because of the tears he'd been crying. The redhead wrapped his arms around Dark, clutching him protectively and claiming him his property. He'd waited long enough for this to happen and now he wasn't going to let it go. Whatever happened, whatever words were spoken, nothing would ever change his mind. He would never let Dark go. That was the last thought that crossed his mind before everything went black.  
  
-o-

_Ta-dannnn! You cannot complain: this chapter was 10 (ten) pages long!! I tried with all of my might to write it decent, but, hell, you're the only ones to judge. Ah, my Writer's Block is slowly fading away. Still, it's a pity that I'm recovering when the story is ending... yes, the story is coming to an end: next chapter's the last and then there's the epilogue and then... that's it, finito, no more. Until I get another plot going (no more Aus, they're not easy to write). But thou must not grieve, for I have more than one idea that might be put into paper. Until then, you have Kirei. hint  
  
Chapter notes:  
The title: it comes from one of my favourite songs by the Japanese deity: Közi. Who is this Közi guy? He used to play the guitar in Malice Mizer (my favourite band), where Gackt and Klaha (and some Tetsu guy) used to sing. The other guitarist of this band is quite famous; Mana, who is now in Moi Dix Mois, is the most popular cross-dresser in Japan. Yeah, that was quite a bit of information, ne? You should download something by any of those artists I mentioned; they're all amazing...  
Funabashi is evil? Yes, in this story, this cool, though unknown, character is rather stupid, annoying and simply disgusting.  
The theatre group's name, 'Hiro no Yume,' means something like 'rabbit's dream.' Needless to say, I named it like that because of our beloved bunny-sensei's obsession with, well, bunnies. And the play's name, 'Onegai,' (as far as I know) means 'please.' All you Japanese speakers are invited to correct me if I'm wrong.  
Utaban: I have no idea if that show is still on air, but I couldn't think of anything else. And, besides, I'm in love with those interviews they did to Gackt and some of their comments won them a tiny little part of my heart. Those guys are funny, indeed... butabara!! (don't ask...)  
The banners on Keiji's door: 'Whip it' is an eighties' classic by Devo. 'Love Shack' is, perhaps, the B'52s most famous song. Those two I like lots... I'm a sucker for eighties' music...  
Random names that appeared on the text: Yuu (that's the name of one of the Goddesses' pilots in Megami Kouhosei); Nakaya (Shino's son in Sakende Yaruze! -I love that manga-)  
Well, that's it for now; I really hope you liked it. If so, please, leave a review. I feed on those... and, yes, I'm still obsessed with Hellsing..._ --;

Review time: ne, only three reviews? I'm sad... I hope I'll be getting more with thi chapter (come on!! It's TEN pages long!!! Be nice to me!!! ...please?)  
  
**Staryday: **I hope this answered your question (which I think it did). They kissed again, awwww....  
**KageKitsune16: **la li ho! (this is how Gravitation affects our lives... pathetic, ne?) I'm really glad you liked it and that I made you happy. You make me happy with your reviews, so you know what to do hinthint  
**Pyro Demon: **it's the seventh chapter. I thought I'd fixed that little detail... guess not then, off to fix it now. Glad you liked last chapter, I hope you like this one just as much.


	9. important note

Hello everyone (that goes for both Aoi & Kirei readers –I was too lazy to write two different notes-)!!! Hey, I'm sorry about the lack of updates, but it's been really hard for me to even finish a line, because I got a rather tiring job (I work in a comics store, isn't it a dream?? Yes, it is...) anyway, the point is that I don't have much free time (read "none") and I couldn't finish the stories. However, I WILL finish them even if it's the last thing I do. This Sunday (Sundays are my leisure days) I will sit down and write and hopefully, I'll have both stories finished by Monday or Tuesday. Please, be patient with me, my life is a bit messy now. But I'm happy, anyway, and that's what counts...  
Thanks for understand (IF you understood ) and keep waiting, just a little bit more, for the new Kirei and Aoi chapters.  
Arigatou gozaimasu, ja ne!!!


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